News Brief

(IsraelNN.com) A forensic expert hired by the Jewish community of Hevron has announced that the police investigation into the sale of the Peace House was unprofessional.  Police say they doubt the authenticity of documents proving that a local Arab man sold the building to a Jewish buyer of his own free will.

Dr. Morderchai Vardi, who provides expert testimony on document analysis for the court system, said the police report involving the sale of the building was overly vague and did not explain its conclusions.  The documents that are in doubt appear to be supplemental documents, he said, while the central document—the deed that the original owners signed transferring ownership of the building—is not in question.

Vardi suggested that police may have based some of their suspicions on “self forgery” by the original owners, who could have faked the signatures they gave police in order to confuse investigators.  The original owners could be sentenced to death under Palestinian Authority law if it is proven that they sold property to a Jew.