Khan al-Ahmar (Arabic: خان الاحمر, Hebrew: חאן אל-אחמאר, lit. The Red Inn) is a Bedouin encampment in the West Bank, between the Israeli settlements Ma'ale Adumim and Kfar Adumim. In 2010, there were 100 Bedouin living there in tents and ramshackle huts. [1]
Many of the families living in Khan al-Ahmar, from the Jahalin Bedouin tribe, relocated from the Negev during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. The encampment was slated for destruction in February 2010 due to allegations of illegal buildings.[2] In July 2009, Israeli authorities threatened to demolish a school made of tires and mud built by the Italian aid organization Vento Di Terra (Wind of Earth) and other volunteers. [3]The Israeli Supreme Court suspended the demolition. [4]
East of the encampment is the Good Samaritan Inn (traditionally identified as The Red Inn, hence the name of the settlement), a 16th century Ottoman building believed to have sheltered caravans of traders. On the opposite side are the remains of the church of St. Euthymius, built in the 5th century to commemorate the New Testament story of the Good Samaritan who helped Jesus on his return to Jerusalem. The church was destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars in 13th century.[5]