Clashes erupt in Hebron after settlers ignore deadline

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"Clashes erupt in Hebron after settlers ignore deadline,' Al Jazeera English, Qatar 081202
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Israeli Settlers Create More Chaos in Hebron
Source: The Alternative Information Center (AIC)
Date: Wednesday, 03 December 2008

Settlers have continued to protest against the November 2008 decision of the Israeli Supreme Court, ordering the eviction of nine settler families from the al-Rajabi family home in Hebron.

And tensions brewing in Hebron over the last two weeks have now spread to other parts of the West Bank.

Ahmad Jaradat of the Alternative Information Center reported that on 1 December, settlers attacked the Wadi al-Hussein neighborhood of Hebron. They came in the evening with dogs and stoned the houses, leading the dogs in front of the house windows in order to frighten the inhabitants.

According to Jaradat, Palestinian residents of the area are under daily attacks from extreme right-wing settlers, who generally begin their attacks in the evening hours.

The house in question, known as “Beit HaShalom (peace house) by the Israeli settlers, it is owned by the al-Rajabi family and has, since 2007, been occupied by settlers. The court-mandated date for the eviction order expired two weeks ago, yet the settlers continue to occupy the home as the Israeli military and police were afraid of violent clashes. This is also the reason why the military refuses to provide notice of when an evacuation operation may begin. Although the military is thus attempting to deny the settlers time to prepare, it is estimated that an evacuation operation would require a relatively large force that could be seen from a distance.

On 1 December, the right-wing activists occupying the al-Rajabi family home called on supporters to prepare for a 48 hour siege, while revealing the synagogue they have created in the building. In addition, the settlers claimed they are planning to open a religious seminary that will host thousands of pupils and their teachers.

During the night of 1 December, rumors spread that the Israeli military were ready to carry out the state order and evacuate the settlers from the al-Rajabi home. Using text-messaging, the settlers spread the message that “the eviction force has reached Beit HaShalom.” According to the settlers, police and border police forces were streaming towards the center of Hebron and so the settlers assumed that the evacuation would take place Monday night.

1,500 right-wing activists arrived in Hebron throughout Monday night and Tuesday morning, leading to a spike in settler violence in the city. Palestinian houses and cars were damaged and like two weeks ago, an Islamic cemetery was vandalized. Right-wing youth started to bloc various transportations routes, in order to prevent the Israeli military and police from reaching Hebron. The extreme right-wing activists and local Palestinians started to throw stones and clashes emerged. Since yesterday evening and this morning, dozen Palestinians were injured, including at least three minors.

In other places in the West Bank, Israeli settlers also blocked roads and threw stones at Palestinian cars. Clashes occurred between right-wing activists and Israeli military forces near the West Bank village of Hawara, south of Nablus. Eleven right-wing activists were detained for allegedly attacking Border Guard officers. Two of the detained were minors.

The spokesperson for the Jewish community in Hebron said to the Israeli news portal Ynet, that what has been seen up to now, with the last week of riots and clashes, is just a soft version of what will happen if the eviction order is carried out (Ynet, 2 December).

Still, Defense Minister Ehud Barak is trying to avoid violence and clashes between the settlers and Israeli security forces. In recent days Barak has been meeting with the settlers in order to create a dialogue and convince them to evacuate voluntarily. Barak stresses, however, that if this does not happen, they will be forcefully evicted.

All in all, at least twenty Palestinian and eighteen Israeli security personnel and settlers have been injured during the last two days of violent incidents. And in response to the settlers’ actions, the Israeli Military has declared the area surrounding the disputed house as a close military zone. Israeli border police have taken control over the area and Israeli civilians are not allowed to enter Palestinian neighborhoods in the area. Despite these actions, extreme right-wing activists have continued to set Palestinian houses on fire.




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