Settlers take over Palestinian home near Hebron

The settlers said that they had legal ownership papers for the house, which is located near the road linking Kiryat Arba and the Cave of the Patriarchs (Abraham’s burial site) in Hebron.

Palestinian sources in the West Bank city reported that the settlers also entered a nearby mosque while Muslim worshippers were praying inside. They claimed that the settlers drove the worshippers out of the building before moving on to the house across the way.

Israeli security forces are not working to evacuate them from the premises, the sources said. No violent incidents have been reported as of yet.

A spokesperson for the Jewish settlement in Hebron said, “We entered a new house that was bought in Hebron. It is a large house on the hill leading to Kiryat Arba.”

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3378588,00.html

they would have gone through the courts. What they did instead was pure vigilante eviction. I hope that they receive appropriate justice.

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"Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer said the settlers raid of a Palestinian home outside of Hebron “is a dangerous escalation which could set the town on fire.”

“The IDF and police must act immediately tonight and remove them from the building before they manage to set root there. Responsibility for the situation is upon the shoulders of Defense Minister Amir Peretz,” he said."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3378624,00.html

At least 200 settlers from Hebron's Jewish Quarter entered a Palestinian home on Monday evening, claiming ownership.

The settlers said that the building had been legally purchased a few years ago for the sum of $700,000 and reportedly presented documents to that effect.

However, the owner of the house, Fiaz Rajabi, told Army Radio that he had never sold his property. "The house is mine, and I have the papers to prove it," Rajabi said.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1173879123249&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

IDF, Civil Administration and police looking into ownership documents of house occupied Monday evening. Meanwhile, they say, settlers will not be evacuated. Last year, Palestinians documented two cases of settlers taking over Palestinian houses

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3378768,00.html

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"Police have no plans to evacuate the settlers who occupied a house in Hebron Monday evening, a senior police official told Ynet on Tuesday morning.

"We have no legal basis to evacuate them," he explained."

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"A senior police official told Ynet, "At this stage there are no unusual incidents in the area. The settlers are starting to settle in and to prepare the house for residence. I want to make it clear that we are not preparing for evacuation. The issue should still be examined by legal experts in order to decide who the rightful owner is. In the meantime, the settlers will be able to stay."

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"The Palestinians claimed that the settlers takeover of the house in Hebron was not a unusual occurrence.

In 2006, the Palestinian committee for the protection of homes and land in Hebron documented at least two takeovers of Palestinians homes, six incidents of invasion into homes by settlers who were eventually removed, and 18 failed attempts.

Palestinians also reported an incident of a Palestinian home being burned down, 430 incidents of homes being stoned, and violence against Palestinian tenants."



MK in Hebron declares Kadima backs settlers

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"Kadima MK Otniel Schneller, a close associate of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his liaison to the settlement movement, Tuesday visited a Hebron house occupied this week by settlers, saying that the takeover of the house was consistent with Kadima's policy, and that the party viewed a Hebron settlement bloc as part of a future peace agreement."

<snip>

"Schneller said that he is proceeding on the assumption that the sale was legal, and if that is the case, it was in line with Kadima's program of settlement in blocs, as it created a continuous strip between Kiryat Arba settlement and the adjacent Jewish community of Hebron.

"This is a continuity of unparalleled importance," Schneller said. "This is extraordinary. The work of saints is done by others. By rights, the government of Israel should have done this, but since it was done, and assuming that it is legal, this is definitely in line with Kadima's approach from the demographic standpoint, an approach which views Kiryat Arba - Hebron as a Jewish settlement bloc, under any future agreement."

"In my understanding, this is part of Kadima's world view."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/839905.html

From the article:

"Kadima MK Otniel Schneller, a close associate of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and his liaison to the settlement movement, Tuesday visited a Hebron house occupied this week by settlers, saying that the takeover of the house was consistent with Kadima's policy, and that the party viewed a Hebron settlement bloc as part of a future peace agreement."

Knesset Member Talab El-Sana calls on international community to boycott Israel over Hebron house takeover 'like South Africa during the apartheid era.' Meanwhile, Defense Minister Peretz says he fears escalations of violent clashes between settlers, Palestinians

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3378949,00.html

<snip>

"The international community should boycott Israel over the Hebron house takeover like it boycotted South Africa during the apartheid era, Knesset Member Talab El-Sana (United Arab List-Ta'al) said Tuesday.

According to El-Sana, Israel was the one endangering the region's stability.

"What is actually happening is that the Israeli government is presenting itself as innocent while pointing a finger at the Palestinian government, when in fact Israel is the one who is systematically violating international treaties and Security Council resolutions," the MK explained.

"Israel is the one which is not honoring the agreements it signed, such as the Oslo Accords or the Road Map. Israel is the one continuing its intensive military operation in the West Bank and putting the ceasefire at risk, while backing the rioters in Hebron," he charged.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed his office to legally examine what actions could be taken against the settlers who occupied a Hebron house on Monday evening.

Peretz said he was unsatisfied with the matter and feared an escalation of violent clashes between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank city. However, a source in the minister's office said that Peretz would not operate before receiving legal advice."

Dozens of activists rally in Hebron outside Palestinian house occupied by settlers. MKs Avshalom Vilan, Dov Khenin attend protest, demand government evict settlers 'before it's too late'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3380938,00.html

<snip>

"Dozens of left-wing activists arrived in Hebron Sunday and held a rally near a Palestinian-built house that was occupied by hundreds of settlers last week. The settlers maintain that they bought the house legally, but a local Palestinian family contests their claim.

"Peretz is neglecting his duty," Peace Now secretary-general Yariv Oppenheimer said. "If the settlers aren’t evacuated today, we’ll witness a second Amona here tomorrow," he said, referring to the violent evacuation of the illegal West Bank outpost last year."

<snip>

"Knesset Members Avshalom Vilan (Meretz-Yachad) and Dov Khenin (Hadash) attended the rally and spoke with local Palestinians, including members of the Rajabe family.

"Peretz must decide whether he wants to build another Jewish settlement here and set Hebron on fire, or whether he wants calm. The Israeli government needs to extinguish this flame before it’s too late," Vilan told Ynet.

"Unfortunately, as always, the settlers are the ones who determine the policy on the ground," he added.

Khenin charged that the government was all talk and no action when it came to controlling settlement activity."