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Olmert hints: No forced evacuation of Hebron house; Barak to review army By Aluf Benn and Amos Harel Tags: israel news WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert hinted yesterday that the government will not forcibly evacuate settlers from the so-called "House of Contention" in Hebron, but will instead settle for preventing settler attacks on their Palestinian neighbors. Speaking with reporters during his trip to Washington, Olmert said: "I read the High Court of Justice's decision closely. It ordered the house's occupants to vacate within three days, and if they do not, [it said], the government will have to do so. But it did not explicitly order the government to do so. There is something less than completely unequivocal in the wording the court chose." However, he added, "The repeated attacks on Palestinian civilians and property are clearly intolerable, and we will have to act against them with full force." Advertisement Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ehud Barak plans to review the army and police plans for evacuating the house. In its ruling last week, the High Court ordered the house cleared until another court decides whether Jews or Palestinians own it. However, the settlers refused to leave voluntarily, so the security forces are now preparing for a forcible evacuation. It is still not clear when this evacuation will take place, if it does at all. Defense forces explained that they have received conflicting legal opinions as to whether it must be carried out within 30 days, and are therefore awaiting a definitive ruling from Attorney General Menachem Mazuz. The army would prefer to wait longer, out of fear that carrying out the evacuation at the height of an election campaign, when the atmosphere is already heated, would lead to violence. Rightist MKs, for instance, have already announced that they plan to support the settlers. Barak will have to take this concern into account when deciding on a date for the evacuation. If an evacuation is ordered, the army will try to prevent a clash by surprising the settlers. However, that will be difficult, because the operation will require large forces, making it hard to conceal from the settlers. Bookmark to del.icio.us   Signs of al-Qaida Is the global terror network behind the deadly attacks in Mumbai? Denying Nazi links 104-year-old entertainer files lawsuit: It's not my fault Hitler was my fan.

Read & React Commandos storm Mumbai Chabad house, 4 bodies found Responses: 1 Roni Bart: Obama only makes demands of Israel, not the Palestinians Responses: 1 Anshel Pfeffer: U.S. Jews jealous of Israelis who don't have to grapple with Jewish identity Responses: 4 Yoel Marcus: Sadly, Israel's Obama hasn't appeared, nor is he likely to Send response More Headlines 08:10 Commandos storm Mumbai Chabad house, 4 bodies found 02:54 Mumbai attack sends shock waves through Chabad community worldwide 02:57 Yossi Melman / Is al-Qaida behind the Mumbai terror attacks? 03:34 India declines Israeli offer of aid delegation to Mumbai 01:09 IN PICTURES / Mumbai ravaged by deadly terror attacks 06:41 Olmert blasts Livni for 'building her campaign on my back' 05:22 ANALYSIS / What American Jews don't get about Israelis 07:43 Iraqi parliament approves U.S. troop withdrawal by 2011 03:27 Foreign journalists speak out against ban on entry to Gaza 04:06 Think tank: 20 percent of Israeli prisoners jailed for domestic violence 04:28 Former IDF Gaza chief charged in son's ATV cover-up 06:36 Israel Tax Authority to pay informers for ratting on tax evaders 04:06 Likud targets Russian-speaking voters with new Web site 03:54 Hundreds of stolen bicycles wait to be claimed at Tel Aviv police stations 00:16 Belgian public broadcaster cancels ad that featured Hitler as a stripper Previous Editions Select Day 27 nov 26 nov 25 nov 24 nov 23 nov 21 nov 20 nov 19 nov 18 nov 17 nov 16 nov 14 nov

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