Israel to allow settler takeover of Palestinian homes

Her mother, Reeda Abu Eid, said there had been no trouble before her daughter left the family home, a tent in the Palestinian village ‘Anata.

Israeli police have evacuated Israeli settlers from buildings they had raided and temporarily took over in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, as fearful residents say they have endured intimidation and attacks.

Around 500 Jewish settlers live under heavy military protection in Hebron, which is home to 170,000 Palestinians, and the settlers yearn to expand their numbers and space.

Other Likud lawmakers were also critical of the move: Likud ministers Ze’ev Elkin and Yariv Levin protested the evacuation, and Levin said he would seek to approve the return of the settlers to the buildings at Sunday’s cabinet meeting.

The incident stirred unrest in the right-wing coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which hold only a one-seat majority in the parliament.

“Settlement activities are a violation of global law and run counter to the public pronouncements of the government of Israel supporting a two-state solution to the conflict”, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said in a statement.

“The moment that the purchase process [for the confiscated homes] is authorized, we will allow the [settlers to take possession] of the two houses in Hebron”, he added.

“At least 147 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire, 102 of them identified by Israel as attackers”, the wire service writes.

Under Palestinian law, it is illegal to sell homes to Israelis in the West Bank. It castigated Ya’alon’s focus on alleged settler breaches of the law at a time when Israel was being targeted by Palestinian terrorism.

Nearly daily stabbings, shootings and car-ramming attacks by Palestinians have killed 25 Israelis and one USA citizen. By contrast, 155 Palestinians have been killed in what Israel insists is legitimate self defense.

In November, police in Jerusalem shot dead a 16-year-old Palestinian and seriously wounded her 14-year-old friend after the two girls stabbed and lightly wounded an elderly man in a market. In November, two cousins, ages 12 and 14, were arrested after they attacked an Israeli security guard on a light railway train in East Jerusalem, not far from their homes.

An Israeli TV programme this month showed activist Ezra Nawi saying that he has turned over Arab land dealers to Palestinian authorities, knowing they could be killed.

A Palestinian teenage boy has lost his life as he allegedly attempted to attack an Israeli military base in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) using a bomb. Media reported that three parliamentarians were threatening to boycott Knesset votes until those evicted were allowed back in.