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Last update - 00:10 21/11/2008
Hebron settler mob caught on video clashing with IDF troops
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: west bank, settlers, hebron 

Human rights group B'Tselem released footage on Thursday showing a mob of settlers clashing with Israeli security forces in the West Bank town of Hebron.

During the clashes that erupted early Thursday, some settlers began to attack Palestinian locals while others wounded an IDF soldier by pouring turpentine on him as he tried to stop them from throwing stones at Palestinians.

The B'Tselem footage, featured below, also appears to show the settlers puncturing the tires of an army jeep stationed nearby, which they did to a number of other military vehicles during the clashes.
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The violence erupted early Thursday at a disputed house slated for evacuation in the West Bank city of Hebron. Israeli and Palestinian officials alike called for legal action in light of the clashes.

The High Court on Sunday ordered the settlers to vacate the house, after it was revealed that they had 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.

Settlers spray 'Mohammed Pig' on walls of mosque

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

Mouatassem Daana, a Palestinian resident of Hebron, said he saw settlers gathered near the building "writing demeaning graffiti on the wall of the mosque insulting the Prophet Mohammad" and breaking windows.

An IDF spokesman said settlers also vandalized a cemetery near the mosque. Solders were "working to remove the graffiti and repair the damage" to the mosque and a cemetery, the spokesman said.

"We take such incidents seriously," he added.

MK Otniel Schneller, a Kadima lawmaker opposed to the evacuation, said police and security forces must find those in violation of the law and try them as needed.

Meretz lawmakers Zahava Gak-On and Avshalom Vilan called on the defense minister to take action against the violent activists: "The time has come for these settlers to understand that Hebron is not the wild west," said Gal-On.

Hebron's Palestinian governor, Hussein al-Araj, urged Israeli authorities to halt the settler violence and carry out the court decision.

"What happened is unacceptable," he said. "The Israelis have to enforce the law and stop the suffering of the Palestinians who are living next to settlers. They have to take the settlers from this house and protect the Palestinians."

The Judea and Samaria Police Department was to hold consultations on Thursday to determine how best to deal with the settlers' violence.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak was also expected to meet with security officials for consultations on carrying out the evacuation in accordance with the High Court orders.

However, government legal aides said Wednesday that despite the three-day deadline, the Israel Police and Israel Defense Forces actually have more than 30 days to comply with the High Court decision.

Government legal aides are expected to submit their interpretation of the court's ruling Thursday to Barak.

"I call on everybody involved [in the affair] to act responsibly and in accordance with the state's essence and judicial institutions," Barak said Wednesday in an interview with Army Radio. "It's the fundamentals of the country and we will insist on it."

The security establishment originally believed that the court's ruling required it to evacuate the settlers within a month. However, because the occupation of the house began a year ago, it is not deemed as "new" and the state is thereby not required to abide by the law concerning recently discovered squatters that they be vacated within a month's time.

The Defense Minister's bureau said it has begun talks with settler leaders regarding the evacuation of the house despite slim chances of reaching a deal to that effect.

The house, which has come to be known as either the "Peace House," "Beit Hameriva" ("The House of Contention") or "The Brown House," is located near the Worshipers Way, a strategic locale from the settlers' perspective.

The acquisition of additional houses nearby would help settlers strengthen their position in the area.

Hebron has been a flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. Some 650 settlers live in fortified enclaves guarded by Israeli troops in the heart of the city of 180,000 Palestinians.

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      1.   That`s weak 10:34  |  Northern 20/11/08
      2.   Avishai Raviv strikes again 11:31  |  Avi 20/11/08
      3.   Israel is slowly surrendering to the extremists. 11:41  |  Michael 20/11/08
      4.   even in economic crisis, Shabak maintains a high workload 12:10  |  Moshe 20/11/08
      5.   Ownership documents not forged but legitimate ? 12:11  |  Bill 20/11/08
      6.   Pandering to anarchy 12:23  |  Physicist 20/11/08
      7.   MICHAEL"surrender"? By ordering them out?? 12:30  |  PETER SM 20/11/08
      8.   Michael 12:33  |  lady from USA 20/11/08
      9.   40 years in the wilderness and only 2 entered the land 12:50  |  lady from USA 20/11/08
      10.   disagree 12:50  |  Jackie 20/11/08
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      12.   How can Israel not believe in God as Caleb did? 13:00  |  lady from USA 20/11/08
      13.   special offer 13:11  |  Axel 20/11/08
      14.   Old Memories Still Fresh 13:13  |  Nite Owl 20/11/08
      15.   lady! 13:24  |  chawa 20/11/08
      16.   lady from USA #12 It`s quite easy 14:28  |  Roo 20/11/08
      17.   These Jewish Extremists are like Terrorists to the Palestinians 14:53  |  POP 20/11/08
      18.   Settlers have proven... 15:03  |  MattyGroves 20/11/08
      19.   You Have Got To Be Kidding Me! 15:17  |  Johnboy 20/11/08
      20.   How about the naming it the Nut house 15:32  |  SJ 20/11/08
      21.   God gave Hebron to the Jews 15:32  |  lady from USA 20/11/08
      22.   jewish terrorists 15:32  |  avi 20/11/08
      23.   #5 Bill 15:50  |  Chris Linthwaite 20/11/08
      24.   lady from USA-#21 preacher man 15:51  |  Roo 20/11/08
      25.   #21 lady from USA 15:53  |  Chris Linthwaite 20/11/08
      26.   Soldiers should stay in Hebron 15:55  |  lady from USA 20/11/08
      27.   how racist are we? 15:55  |  curious george 20/11/08
      28.   To the lady From USA 15:58  |  Antwan 20/11/08
      29.   Negotiations? 16:06  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/11/08
      30.   Lady from USA 21. God gave USA to native Americans. 16:14  |  Michael 20/11/08
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      34.   Peter SM and His False Comparisons 18:09  |  Yaakov Sullivan 20/11/08
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      36.   To POP # 17 - The Settlers....... 18:51  |  Natasha 20/11/08
      37.   Hey Poppy, you encourage Jewish extremists to lunch Israssam 18:56  |  Genuine Tosefta 20/11/08
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      45.   The funny thing is: Jerks like the Haaretz staff pay for this 21:48  |  Andreas 20/11/08
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      47.   Refusing to accept taped, incontrovertible proof of ownership... 22:12  |  Chaim 20/11/08
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      49.   Its the ELECTIONS FOOL ? Nothing Else. 23:16  |  Alan 20/11/08
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      55.   The Democratic state. 00:34  |  F. Natour 21/11/08
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      60.   Thaats what land disposations or evacuation can do 02:06  |  Chris 21/11/08
      61.   #19 Johnboy. No kidding about it. 02:14  |  Maureen Ann 21/11/08
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      63.   #44 Reader 03:17  |  Boycott 21/11/08
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      69.   MattyGroves 33 13:02  |  ChanahS 21/11/08
      70.   MattyGroves 33 13:02  |  ChanahS 21/11/08
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      84.   Hebronite # 82 00:37  |  ChanahS 22/11/08
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