Israel to evict Hebron squatters

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 6 (UPI) -- Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh said Friday the authorities would evict settlers who took over a house they claim they bought in Hebron.

The Jewish settlers in that West Bank town have a history of militancy, including fights with security authorities and Arab neighbors, so the decision could lead to a clash. The Yesha Council that represents the West Bank settlers said it would do its best to prevent that "strange decision" from being implemented.

Some 14 families and 20 singles moved into a building in Hebron's al-Jaabari neighborhood on March 19, claiming they bought it for $700,000 through a Jordanian intermediary. The original owner denied having sold it.

It was the first time settlers moved into an area that was not part of an old Jewish neighborhood that existed in Hebron.

The settlers claimed its location was of "strategic importance" because it controlled a section of the route that links the Jewish town of Kiryat Arba with the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron's old city.

Sneh said they moved illegally. He noted that every real-estate deal in the occupied territories requires Defense Ministry approval, but the settlers "did not ask for permission and know why (they did not)."

A Cabinet decision taken a quarter of a century ago says any settlement in Hebron requires Cabinet approval, and "no Cabinet decided to expand the Jewish settlement in Hebron," he noted.

The international monitors deployed there, the Temporary International Presence in Hebron, welcomed the government's decision.

Israeli law allows for speedy eviction of an illegal settlement within 30 days, and Sneh expected police to act before April 18.

The settlers' spokesman, Noam Arnon, criticized the decision. "At long last we buy and pay ... so give the permit," he said.