WEST BANK: Israeli soldiers scuffle with Jewish settlers as they prepare to evict people from a building in Hebron

Record ID: 565122

  • Title: WEST BANK: Israeli soldiers scuffle with Jewish settlers as they prepare to evict people from a building in Hebron
  • Date: 7th May 2006
  • Summary: ISRAELI PARAMEDICS WHEELING A STRETCHER INTO THE COMPOUND MORE BORDER POLICEMEN PAN TO SETTLER LOOKING OUT OF WINDOW
  • Embargoed: 22nd May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5N531G46337I4Y8OAGKL8703F
  • Story Text: Israeli soldiers scuffled with Jewish settlers on Sunday morning (May 7) in the West Bank city of Hebron as they prepared to evict people from a building.
    Israel's High Court on Thursday (May 7) cleared the way for security forces to evict some two dozen settlers who have have been squatting in the three-storey house for a month in a bid to expand their enclave in Hebron and then on Friday (May 5) agreed to a government request to delay the eviction.
    It had ordered the settlers to leave by 11.00 a.m. (0800 GMT) on Friday but the government sought a delay because the Jewish Sabbath would start a few hours later. Ownership of the building is claimed by Palestinians.
    The settlers have vowed to stay in what could be an example of the challenge Prime Minister Ehud Olmert faces over his plan to set Israel's borders by removing settlers from parts of the West Bank if peacemaking with the Palestinians remains frozen.
    Olmert has not, however, said what he intends to do with the some 400 settlers who live among 130,000 Palestinians in Hebron, a frequent flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian violence.
    The court gave Israeli security forces until Monday (May 8) to carry out the eviction. Israel Radio said it would take place on Sunday.
    The settlers argue they purchased the property legally from the owners and condemned the eviction notice.
    As part of his "convergence plan" for imposing Israel's final borders by 2010, Olmert has pledged to evacuate isolated Jewish settlements in the West Bank while building up several larger blocs in the territory. Palestinians say this would mean the annexing of land and deny them a viable state.
    Around 200 protesters and police were injured in clashes when Israel dismantled an unauthorised settler outpost in the West Bank in February. Police described it as the fiercest violence they have ever faced from Israeli Jews.
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