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Defense Minister Amir Peretz
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| By israelinsider staff April 11, 2007 |
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Defense Minister Amir Peretz has ordered the evacuation of a disputed house in Hebron that was occupied by yeshiva students and youths some three weeks ago. Amir Peretz stated Wednesday that the settlers must evacuate within 15 days.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, the legal process will grant the settlers 15 days to leave voluntarily, followed by a 15-day extension.
Peretz has instructed Major-General Yosef Mishlav, coordinator of the government activities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to oversee the evacuation.
Earlier Wednesday, Peretz ordered the settlers to evacuate within 24 hours. Peretz said Wednesday morning that if the settlers did not leave by themselves within a day, they would be forcefully evacuated by the IDF over several weeks.
That announcement came after he stated his intentions to call for an evacuation late Tuesday evening.
However, it appears that Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz did not say that there was any legal basis for an immediate evacuation, and he therefore rejected the Defense Minister's request, Israel Radio reported.
The Defense Minister's decision supposedly came after Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz published an opinion stating that the occupation is illegal.
However, according to Ynetnews, Peretz had already decided to evacuate the settlers last week, regardless of whether they possess ownership licenses and documents for the house.
That decision was based on a legal clause that states that the settlers must have authorization from the Defense Minister in order to reside in the disputed house. Peretz, of course, never gave his permission.
Peretz was harshly criticized over his decision to evacuate the house, but went ahead with the decision anyway, after receiving Mazuz's approval.
He denied that the decision was motivated by political concerns and in an interview on Israel Radio Peretz explained, "I am upholding the law. I am responding to the situation on the ground."
The Jewish community of Hebron expressed its objection by calling for a stop to the government's "anti-Semitic crime of removing Jews from their homes," Israel Radio reported.
The Hebron Jewish Settlement Committee was unfazed by Attorney-General Mazuz's ruling and referred to his "known animosity against settlements."
Defense establishment sources believe that an appeal on the part of the settlers could delay the evacuation. Even if the settlers lose the appeal, it will take time to draw up the detailed plans for the evacuation operation.
About 300 youths and yeshiva students occupied the house in an Arab neighborhood near Hebron on March 19. They claimed to have legal ownership papers for the house.
However, a Palestinian man named Fais Rajabi also claimed to be the legal owner of the house. He said he had bought the house about 15 years ago and was planning to live in it with his three wives and 22 children.
A representative of the Palestinian Land and Housing Committee in Hebron slammed the settlers' claim of ownership, saying their story had been "prepared...in order to justify the takeover for public opinion and the Israeli and world media."
Left-wing Israeli organizations such as B'tselem and Peace Now have also slammed the settlers for occupying the building, claiming that regardless of whether or not the settlers have legal rights to the house, settlements should be evacuated and not developed. |
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