Subscribe to Print Edition | Sat., December 06, 2008 Kislev 9, 5769 | | Israel Time: 04:56 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Jewish World Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Books Haaretz Magazine Business Real Estate GA 2008 Travel Week's End Anglo File
Comments:  54
Last update - 01:05 03/12/2008
Border Patrol deploys around Hebron house in wake of violent clashes in West Bank city
By Amos Harel and Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Tags: Palestinians, Hebron 

A special detachment of Border Patrol officers deployed in Hebron Tuesday, following the escalation of clashes between settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank City that left 18 Israelis and seven Palestinians hurt Tuesday.

The officers will focus their patrols on the area around the disputed "House of Contention."

The decision follows statements made by Israel Defense Forces officials in recent days that settler violence has been "almost unprecedented" in it's severity. IDF officials have also called for teachers in West Bank yeshivas and high schools to rein in their students.
Advertisement
A teenage settler suffered a serious head injury on Tuesday after Palestinians dropped a large rock on him during clashes in Hebron.

The clashes took place near the "House of Contention," where settlers have been holed up in defiance of a Supreme Court eviction notice.

In order to stop the continuing reinforcement of settlers, IDF and police forces have blocked Gush Etzion Junction, to keep local residents from reaching Hebron. Israeli central command has stationed IDF border police in Hebron in order to control the violence of the settlers.

Palestinian residents threw rocks and flowerpots at settlers who were attempting to break into a Palestinian home. The teenage settler who suffered the head injury was knocked unconscious. He was later evacuated by a Magen David Adom emergency services ambulance.

Earlier, while the groups were hurling stones at each other, Security forces attempted to disperse them with tear gas and stun grenades.

IDF officials described the severity of the settlers' riots as 'unprecedented.' They said the violent clashes were initiated by the settlers and not by the Palestinians, who only responded by throwing rocks.

Officials criticized the numerous students that were prompted by the heads of their yeshiva seminaries to skip school in order to support the settler's struggle in Hebron.

Among the hundreds of right-wing activists who were rioting, two youths were arrested, according to Israel Radio.

In two villages elsewhere in the West Bank, Palestinians said groups of settlers burned animal feed and slashed tires.

On Monday, settlers and Palestinians also threw stones in clashes that injured five in the West Bank city where Jews are vowing to halt the evication of settlers who have taken refuge in the disputed home not far from the Tomb of the Patriarchs.

Five Palestinians, including a 12-year-old boy, were injured, Palestinian medics in the flashpoint city said.

At least two Palestinian cars also were set ablaze in what an Israeli security source described as a riot beside the building where the Jewish families facing eviction have been living for a year and a half.

Right-wing activists on Monday stepped-up preparations to resist an operation by security forces aimed at evicting them from the disputed house in Hebron in accordance with a ruling by the High Court of Justice.

The activists flocked to the building, whose ownership is claimed by both Jews and Palestinians and is known alternatively as the Peace House or House of Contention, as rumors spread that the operation was imminent.

In addition, they briefly blocked roads in the West Bank near the settlements of Itzhar and Mitzpe Yeriho as well as the Bar Ilan junction within the 1967 borders of Israel to protest against the anticipated eviction.

The house is located in a key strategic location between the settlement of Kiryat Arba and the Cave of the Patriarchs, a holy site for Jews and Muslims. In the past, violence between Palestinians and Jews has erupted over control of the area.

Right-wing activists on Monday asked the public to relay information about security forces movements in the Hebron area to help it determine when the operation was to occur.

Officials refuse to say when eviction will take place

Security force officials refused to say yesterday when the operation would take place, fearing that information would leak to right-wing activists and help them prepare against it, as has been the case in the past.

Still, because the operation will require a large force, some of which will have to be called in from a distance, the operation's planners expect the right-wing activists will have a few hours to prepare.

During recent meetings on the issue, Defense Minister Ehud Barak has advocated a hard line against the occupants of the building in Hebron, showing no indication that it would be postponed. Last week he visited Hebron together with Israel Defense Forces Chief Gabi Ashkenazi for a briefing on the planned operation.

Right-wing activists yesterday called its supporters to prepare to for a 48-hour siege. It also unveiled a synagogue in the building with a torah scroll donated in memory of right-wing journalist Adir Zak. The scroll was previously placed at an outpost in the Hebron Hills. Activists at the Hebron building also said they planned to open a religious seminary that will accommodate 1,000 pupils and their teachers.

The occupants of the house have received the support of many right-wing and religious politicians. MK Nissim Zeev of Shas has moved into the house and his party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, has blessed activists barricading themselves.

Meanwhile, security officials said they were worried about the growing number of violent incidents between Palestinians and right-wing activists in Hebron over the past two weeks. Incidents instigated by Jewish youths including stone-throwing, daubing hate graffiti and defacing Muslim cemeteries, causing unrest among local Palestinians. They said that security forces fear the violence may lead to attacks on Israeli targets in the West Bank city.

Yehoshua Greenwald, 17, from Beit Shemesh was only one of many youths who arrived at the disputed building to show support for its occupants. Greenwald studies at a yeshiva seminary in the center of the country and is one of 10 children in his family. He arrived at the house with three other friends.

Yesterday he said that the yeshiva where he studies, which he refuses to name, demanded his parents give their signed approval to let him leave his studies and travel to Hebron in support of activists barricading themselves in the building.

"My father is a torah scribe and my mother is a teacher," he said. "They didn't fuss about it. They know how important it is that I be here for a day or two and study a bit, help people organize and serve dinner to the families here before I go back. Others will then replace me here."

He said that if security forces try to evict the house while he is there he would not resist violently. "But I won't be a chump either," he said. "We'll resist in a fashion that will respect the struggle."


Related articles:
  • Next to Hebron's 'House of Contention,' Palestinian neighbors live in fear
  • Settler leader: Hebron evacuation will be met with force greater than Amona
  • 20,000 Jewish pilgrims to descend on Hebron amid settler violence
    • Bookmark to del.icio.us  
     
    Settler rampage
    Video shows settler shooting Palestinian in the stomach from point-blank range.
    Living side by side
    An historic Chicago synagogue neighbors Barack Obama's house.
      1.   Thse who own and/or live in the house call it the house of peace 07:48  |  Avi 02/12/08
      2.   For Once Israel Must Protect Jews and Their Rights! 09:11  |  Baruch Gold 02/12/08
      3.   Cannot understand hesitation of the authorities... 11:47  |  Esther 02/12/08
      4.   Culture of hate. 12:33  |  Jean Van Daem 02/12/08
      5.   All the Settlers Must Be Removed from Hebron 13:10  |  Moshe Cryan 02/12/08
      6.   Ehud Barak has reduced Labor to eight mandates - what doesn`t he 13:14  |  redmike 02/12/08
      7.   To Moshe Cryan # 5 - Are you Arab or a Jew? 14:04  |  Onlooker 02/12/08
      8.   To Esther # 3 - What can you not understand? 14:11  |  The Threadmill 02/12/08
      9.   Jean Van Daem 4. What do settlers teach their kids? 14:26  |  Michael 02/12/08
      10.   Self-defence is no offence 14:46  |  Realist 02/12/08
      11.   "Disputed building" 15:39  |  Gerhard 02/12/08
      12.   nice headline 16:23  |  Brb 02/12/08
      13.   Thread #8...hesitate to say "nonsense".... 16:37  |  Esther 02/12/08
      14.   for whom the bells toll? 16:42  |  amihai 02/12/08
      15.   thanks Moshe Cryan 17:05  |  peter 02/12/08
      16.   what settlers teach thier kids 17:11  |  Aaron 02/12/08
      17.   #4, Jean Van Daem 17:21  |  Silvienne 02/12/08
      18.   Well said Moshe Cryan #5... 17:22  |  Silvienne 02/12/08
      19.   #7, Onlooker the Anarchist... 17:24  |  Silvienne 02/12/08
      20.   The Threadmill...it is the year 2008 17:32  |  Silvienne 02/12/08
      21.   Soldiers 17:58  |  Robbie 02/12/08
      22.   If I were a right-wing Zionist ... 18:08  |  Axel 02/12/08
      23.   Settlers 18:18  |  Magnus K. 02/12/08
      24.   these settlers shame us all 18:18  |  Sylvie 02/12/08
      25.   Tit for Tat 18:23  |  Josh 02/12/08
      26.   Common Sense 18:28  |  guy 02/12/08
      27.   Was anyone from Haaretz actually there??? 18:34  |  ZADOK 02/12/08
      28.   Um, Aaron...#16 18:38  |  Josh 02/12/08
      29.   To # 24 18:38  |  Hans 02/12/08
      30.   Settlers 18:39  |  Sam Soul 02/12/08
      31.   #28, Josh, thank you for a good post,.,.. 19:24  |  Silvienne 02/12/08
      32.   #28, Aaron...wanna watch some Israeli humanrights videos? 19:28  |  Silvienne 02/12/08
      33.   Oy Vay a Jew owns land and home in Hevron 19:42  |  peter 02/12/08
      34.   If not them -who? 20:14  |  eitan 02/12/08
      35.   Hebron 20:17  |  Hillel 02/12/08
      36.   The Law is the Law 20:43  |  David K 02/12/08
      37.   Haaretz is guilty!!!! 20:48  |  Ben Uziel 02/12/08
      38.   very funny pic w/the kung fu squatters!! 20:50  |  yeah right 02/12/08
      39.   Tepid response of Israel authorities 21:34  |  Steve 02/12/08
      40.   Boys should add in light, not in fight 21:39  |  John solnwirre 02/12/08
      41.   Summing up... 22:27  |  Esther 02/12/08
      42.   Youth energy-defending homeland 22:38  |  Brod 02/12/08
      43.   Really? 22:38  |  utagawa 02/12/08
      44.   Weld all doors and windows shut 22:39  |  Pablo B 02/12/08
      45.   Arab Violence Against Jews Goes Unchecked in East Israel 23:11  |  Baruch Gold 02/12/08
      46.   if the Israeli authorities don`t get their act together soon - 01:42  |  ivo 03/12/08
      47.   #46, ivo... 17:59  |  Silvienne 03/12/08
      48.   #45, Baruch Gold...aren`t you forgetting something? 18:03  |  Silvienne 03/12/08
      49.   Silvienne #47: you`re right, the situation is serious - - 19:58  |  ivo 03/12/08
      50.   #49, ivo, "two Israels"... 00:12  |  Silvienne 04/12/08
      51.   Silvienne #50: crazy & scary scenarios to imagine - 1 02:25  |  ivo 04/12/08
      52.   Silvienne #50: crazy & scary scenarios to imagine - 2 02:31  |  ivo 04/12/08
      53.   #51,#52, ivo.....2ND TRY 21:09  |  Silvienne 05/12/08
      54.   Silvienne #53: the ultraorthodox - 04:47  |  ivo 06/12/08
     Read & React
    Israel braces for settler violence in wake of Hebron house evacuation
    Responses: 110
    Avi Issacharoff: Hebron settler riots were out and out pogroms
    Responses: 133
    Traditional circumcision raises risk of infection, study shows
    Responses: 40
    Obama's 'Palestinian friend' laments catastrophic U.S. policy in Mideast
    Responses: 120


    More Headlines
    03:47 Bush: America will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon
    02:38 Report: Lebanese general Aoun met Mossad agents during Paris exile
    23:58 Palestinians protest rampage by Hebron settlers
    00:22 Israeli embassy in Mexico gets mail with explosive trace
    02:56 Jimmy Carter to visit Syria, Lebanon next week
    21:24 Study finds genes of Sephardic Jews still strong in Spain
    07:29 Obama's 'Palestinian friend' laments catastrophic U.S. policy in Mideast
    19:52 Egyptian group slams Arab world's poor human rights record
    21:53 Amid Hebron tensions, U.S. tells nationals: Keep out of Jerusalem
    21:25 U.S. Treasury announces sanctions on dealing with terror suspects
    22:45 El Al plane makes emergency landing in T.A. due to fire on board
    21:51 VIDEO / IDF bolsters forces across West Bank in wake of Hebron house eviction
    14:53 ANALYSIS / Hebron settler riots were out and out pogroms
    15:21 Chabad, family of Mumbai victims at odds over nanny's media interviews
    07:58 Traditional circumcision raises risk of infection, study shows
    08:00 Report: India has proof Pakistan spy agency linked to Mumbai attacks
    Previous Editions
    Special Offers
    Advertisement
    Summer in Israel
    Israeli style - Tzofim Chetz V'Keshet 2009
    Living in Israel Studying in English
    Click & Meet our students from all around the world
    Fattal Hotel Chain
    Perfectly located hotels on best resorts of Israel.
    Car rental in Israel
    Shlomo Sixt Receive $15.00 from our low rates.
    Eldan Rent a Car
    Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on all online reservations
    Jewish Singles Personal Ads
    Find the love of your life on JDate.com
    Israel's Premier Real Estate Website
    www. israel-property.com
    Hebrew Summer courses
    From $39.95
    Junkyard
    Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
    Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Underground | Site rules |
    Real Estate in Israel | Travel to Israel with Haaretz | Hotels Israel | Restaurants Israel | Tourist attractions Israel | Shops Israel
    birthright Israel | Search engine marketing
    Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
    © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved