100 Israeli settlers occupy house in Hebron

Israeli forces assisted some 100 settlers in the illegal occupation of a building in Hebron last night.

The property was stormed by 15 families after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu encouraged the building of a new illegal settlement called Beit HaMachpela in the area. Palestinian residents were evacuated from the house, which is close to the Ibrahimi Mosque, despite an ongoing court case as to ownership, according to the Times of Israel.

Netanyahu also reportedly asked security forces to permit settlers to storm the property; a move that the Palestinian occupants say was a form of collective punishment in response to the ongoing protests over access to Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

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Hazem Abu Rajab Al-Tamimi, a resident of the house, told Ma’an news agency that Israeli forces had been stationed outside the property for two days before eventually allowing settlers to enter. Israeli occupying soldiers then forced the Palestinians out and hung an Israeli flag from the roof.

This is the second time the building has been a target for Israeli settlers. In 2012, the same families squatted in the area professing ownership of the property, but were removed when a court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate their claim.

The settlers have since called on the government to “boldly raise the banner of settlement and loyalty to the land of Israel”.

Israeli NGO and settlement watchdog Peace Now released a statement confirming and condemning the incident.

We demand that the government orders the immediate evacuation of the settlers who invaded Beit HaMachpela. After their claims of ownership had been denied, the settlers have decided to take the law into their own hands and establish an illegal settlement that might ignite the region.

After Jerusalem, Hebron has witnessed the most clashes between Palestinians and Israeli occupation forces after the implementation of new security measures at Al-Aqsa Mosque. The city was also a site of controversy earlier this month, following a decision by UNESCO to recognise the Ibrahimi Mosque as a Palestinian World Heritage Site endangered by Israel.

Israeli flags can be seen around a Palestinian house which was illegally occupied by settlers under the protection of occupation forces in the West bank city of Hebron on 26 July 2017. [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

An Israeli flag can be seen atop a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on 26 July 2017. Over 100 settlers stormed the house and evicted the Palestinian family which legally owns it. [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

An Israeli flag can be seen atop a Palestinian home in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on 26 July 2017. Over 100 settlers stormed the house and evicted the Palestinian family which legally owns it. [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

Settlers gather outside a Palestinian home after they evicted its legal owners and took it over in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on 26 July 2017. [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

Settlers gather outside a Palestinian home after they evicted its legal owners and took it over in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron on 26 July 2017 [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

Settlers put up Israeli flags at the windows and roof of a Palestinian house on 26 July 2017 after they took it over and evicted the family living in it the day earlier in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

Settlers gather in front of a house in occupied Hebron, West Bank on 26 July 2017. The Palestinian Abu Rajab family had been evicted from the property which is legally theirs after over 100 settlers stormed it under the protection of occupation forces. [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

Settlers are seen looking out of the window of a Palestinian house in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron one day after they took it over and evicted the Palestinian family which owns the property on 26 July 2017. [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

Settlers are seen on a rooftop in Hebron, West Bank on 26 July 2017. The Palestinian Abu Rajab family were evicted from their house, which is located in Old Town region, by Israeli occupiers accompanied with Israeli forces, claiming that they are the owners of the house. [Mamoun Wazwaz /Anadolu Agency]

A Palestinian house is seen with an Israeli flag on it as settlers take over and evict the legal residents in Hebron, West Bank on 26 July, 2017 [Mamoun Wazwaz/Anadolu Agency]