Jewish settlers given 72 hours to leave Hebron house

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"Israel's High Court on Sunday ordered Jewish settlers to evacuate within three days a house in the flashpoint West Bank town of Hebron whose ownership is contested.

The ruling, which was slammed by settler leaders, follows a series of violent clashes between Israeli security forces and hardline Jews seeking to erect unauthorised outposts in the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967.

The court rejected an appeal by two rightwing organisations against an order issued by the state to evacuate the Hebron house, which the settlers claim they had purchased from a Palestinian, who denies selling the house.

The controversial house was occupied by dozens of hardline Jewish settlers in March 2007. They have remained in the four-storey building which they dubbed "the house of peace" despite the evacuation order.

The court ruling said the settlers "should turn to the appropriate legal bodies to prove their ownership over the house and refrain from taking the law into their own hands by occupying the property against the will of its owner."

It ordered the settlers to leave the house within three days. If they are not out by then, the ruling said, they can be subject to forceful evacuation by police."

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[Scurrilous]

1. 'We'll go to war over Hebron house,' warn settlers

Right-wing activists say they have no intention of complying with High Court ruling they must evacuate disputed property, agree on series of measures to counter expected forced evacuation. Extremists Marzel, Federman vow settlers will fight, pledge 'Greater Israel will be realized'

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3623990,00.html

<snip>

"As the defense establishment gears up to carry out the ruling of the High Court of Justice regarding the disputed house in the West Bank city of Hebron, settlers are preparing to take a defiant stand in what has become an emblematic symbol of the schism between the government and the settler movement.

Speaking to Ynet on Sunday, extreme-right activist Baruch Marzel warned against the planned evacuation. "I think we will forget what happened in Amona. We have come to actual war. All of Judea and Samaria and the Land of Israel will not stand silent in the face of this horrible crime," he said from the sidelines of the annual memorial conference for slain Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the outlawed Kach movement.

The High Court rejected the petition filed by the Jewish settlers in Hebron against the state's decision to evacuate the disputed house, and ruled it must be cleared within three days' time. The judges accepted the state's position and determined that until the ownership dispute is settled, the property would be in the hands of the state.

But Marzel rejected the court's authority. "We must go to war, using any means to prevent this crime from occurring. If you ask the High Court whether it is permissible to breathe, it would say only Arabs are allowed," he said.

The joint campaign headquarters for the disputed home convened on Sunday evening to decide on a series of measures designed to "stop the uprooting of residents from the house of peace and fight for the right of Jews to settle anywhere in the Land of Israel."

[Scurrilous]

2. MKs urge legal action as settler violence erupts in Hebron

<snip>

"Violent clashes erupted early Thursday between settler activists and Israeli security forces at a disputed house slated for evacuation in the West Bank city of Hebron, prompting Israeli and Palestinian officials alike to call for legal enforcement.

The High Court on Sunday ordered the settlers to vacate the house, after they forged ownership documents. The settlers were given until noon Wednesday to evacuate voluntarily, a deadline that expired without heed.

The Defense Ministry said it would avoid the use of force in the evacuation and would try to urge the settlers to leave on their own accord.

By late Wednesday, the house was still not evacuated and the settlers' protests grew hotter throughout the city.

During the protests, some settlers began to attack Palestinian locals while others wounded an IDF soldier by spraying turpentine at him as he tried to stop them from throwing stones at Palestinians.

Activists also punctured the tires of police and military jeeps stationed nearby.

The settlers also scribbled graffiti around Hebron, including spraying 'Mohammed Pig' on the walls of a local mosque and on Palestinian homes nearby."

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[LeftishBrit]

3. Good. The settler movement is out of hand and needs to be reigned in.

[Scurrilous]

4. Security forces brace as settlers arrive in droves to Hebron

Tens of thousands expected to enter West Bank city over weekend, with many planning to remain in disputed house intended for evacuation. Settler violence against troops has escalated sharply over past few days, rattling nighttime footage captures rioting mob attacking security forces

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3626355,00.html

<snip>

"Security forces deployed throughout Hebron on Thursday evening in anticipation of another night of public disturbances in the West Bank city by extreme-right activists. Although the High Court's ruling on the evacuation of the disputed house near the Tomb of the Patriarchs has not yet been carried out, tensions between Jewish settlers and law enforcement are at a boiling point.

The IDF, Border Guard and the police have all reinforced their men on the ground in preparation for the arrival of some 20,000 people to Hebron ahead of the reading of the 'Chayei Sarah' weekly portion (lit. 'The Life of Sarah,' Genesis 23:1-25:18)."

<snip>

"But despite the apparent tensions Noam Arnon, a spokesman for Hebron's Jewish community, said there was hope the night would progress calmly. The Shabbat of 'Chayei Sarah' is one of ten days in the Jewish year when Jews are allowed into Isaac's Hall, the largest and most important chamber of those comprising the Tomb of the Patriarchs. For most of the year Jews are forbidden to enter it. Due to the rarity of the occasion, the city often sees an influx of tens of thousands during this time.

"We expect about 20,000 people to come to Hebron, and we're preparing of that as we do every year. Every family will host several dozen guests and the schools and public institutions will also be filled with guests, and there are public mess halls and hostels that open up," said Arnon.

Although most of those who come to Hebron to pray will leave with the conclusion of the Sabbath, Arnon realizes that some, mostly teenagers, will choose to stay and join numerous others at the disputed house in an attempt to prevent its evacuation.

Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter pledged on Thursday that the High Court's ruling on the matter of the disputed house would be carried precisely as it was written.

Dichter told Ynet that, as determined in the ruling, the house "will be evacuated within 30 days' time and guardianship of the property would be assumed by the state."

[Crunchy Frog]

5. I'm sceptical that this evacuation will occur. But it will be interesting to see what happens.

Israel seems to have created a right wing monster that is now completely out of its control.