Hebron settlers evicted from house
By the CNN Wire Staff
April 4, 2012 — Updated 1507 GMT (2307 HKT)
A Jewish settler argues with an officer as Israeli forces evict settlers from a house in Hebron, West Bank on April 4.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Hebron is the most contested city in the West Bank
- The eviction comes amid upcoming Netanyahu-Fayyad meeting
- Official says eviction will help ease tension and is “a good step forward”
Jerusalem (CNN) — Israeli police evicted 15 people from a house in the restive West Bank city of Hebron on Wednesday.
The men, women and children were removed without any violent resistance, police said.
“The area is quiet and large forces are still at the scene guarding the house and the Jewish community in Hebron,” spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
Some two dozen settlers moved into the Hebron house in the middle of the night last Thursday, claiming they had legally purchased the building from a Palestinian man.
But Palestinian authorities have disputed the purchase was made legally.
On Monday, the Israeli Ministry of Defense, citing the absence of required paperwork and prior notification, ordered the settlers to move out of the home by Tuesday afternoon or be subject to forcible eviction.
Hebron is the largest and most contested city in the West Bank. It is home to more than 160,000 Palestinians and a 500-person Israeli settler minority who live in an enclave protected by the Israeli military.
The city, which is believed to be the biblical burial site of Abraham, is home to the religious holy site known as the Cave of the Patriarch to Jews and the Ibrahimi mosque to Muslims.
Relations between Israelis and Palestinians living in Hebron have been marked by years of hostility and tension that have frequently erupted into violence.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked Defense Minister Ehud Barak to postpone the eviction a couple of days ago.
The eviction comes as the Israeli government announced that Netanyahu will be meeting with Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad after the Jewish holy period of Passover ends the week after next in an effort to get negotiations going.
Imad Hamdan, general director of the Hebron rehabilitation committee of the Old City of Hebron, confirmed the evacuation process and said it will help reduce tension.
“I believe this is a good step forward,” he said.
Hamdan said if the settlers appeal the eviction, “We are going to go against them, and we will prove the ownership of this building to whom it belongs.”
CNN’s Guy Azriel, Kareem Khadder and Kevin Flower contributed to this report
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