Israel court gives Palestinians right to evict settlers from Hebron property

A Palestinian committee announced on Tuesday that it had obtained get an eviction order against Israeli settlers from a Palestinian building in the centre of the West Bank city of Hebron that had been seized since 2005.

Emad Hamdan, director of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, told the Anadolu Agency that “the committee managed to extract an eviction order from the Israeli Magistrate’s Court forcing the settlers to vacate Al-Bakri building in Tel Rumeida neighbourhood of the old town of Hebron.”

Hamdan pointed out that the court granted the settlers 45 days to leave or appeal the decision.

READ: Israel prevents Palestinians from documenting Hebron settler crimes

He added: “The court order came after a legal conflict that lasted for many years in different Israeli courts.”

The number of settlers, who have been living in the three-storey building since 2005, is still unknown.

Settlers’ associations have been seeking to seize as many Palestinian houses and real estate as possible in the Old City of Hebron in order to transform the buildings into Jewish outposts.

The old town of Hebron is home to about 400 illegal settlers, guarded by some 1,500 Israeli soldiers.

Israel occupation forces have closed about 1,800 shops in the Old City over the past few years.

According to an agreement signed between the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel in 1997, the city was divided into two areas: the H1 area which is managed by the Palestinian Authority, and H2 -which includes the Old City, which remained under the control of the Israeli army.

INTERVIEW: My life in Hebron, ‘I dream of a day when there are no settlements’

Are Israeli settlers really innocent? – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]