International Criminal Court (ICC) Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, said Wednesday that Israel’s planned demolition of Bedouin village Khan al-Amar in the West Bank could constitute a war crime.

“Evacuation by force now appears imminent,” she said. “It bears recalling, as a general matter, that extensive destruction of property without military necessity and population transfers in an occupied territory constitute war crimes under the Rome Statute.”

Israel claims that these villages and other settlements are unrecognized and illegal, a move that has drawn criticism from organizations such as Human Rights Watch (HRW), which says that Israel is using unnecessary military force to expel rightful citizens from their settlements.

There is, however, a legal basis for this land seizure. The 1969 Israeli Land Law, last revised by the Knesset in 2017, claims that resettled peoples have the right to compensation totaling 125 percent of the previous land’s value. Additionally, they will be resettled in legal government towns where there exists education, health care and safe drinking water. HRW claims these areas are not equipped to handle an additional influx of people.

The Bedouin, although Arab, are not Palestinian peoples, and live a nomadic lifestyle in the areas presently controlled by Israel and the West Bank. Israel has poured 1.2 million shekels (roughly USD $350 million) into Bedouin community development, but when they wish to live outside their allotted townships they are often forcibly relocated there.

Due to geopolitical issues, Israel has recently accelerated its policy of expelling illegal settlers and settling Israeli citizens in their place. Khan al-Amar is next.

Last month the European Parliament condemned the Israeli intention, calling it “a grave breach of international humanitarian law,” and called upon Israel “to put an immediate end to its policy of threats of demolition and actual eviction against the Bedouin communities.”

“I continue to keep a close eye on the developments on the ground,” said Bensouda in the ICC statement. “[I] will not hesitate to take any appropriate action.”