The Israel Defense Forces plan to use the disputed Beit HaShalom (Peace House) in Hevron as quarters and an outlook post for soldiers. The government also re-opened Zion Road, the only road that connects Hevron with the nearby Jewish city of Kiryat Arba, to Arab traffic.
The government expelled Jewish residents of the apartment complex last December until a court ruling decides who the legal owner is. The IDF stated that the posting of the soldiers in Beit HaShalom comes in wake of the traffic changes in the area, and that officials who claim the rights to the property have been informed. “It should be emphasized that this is a temporary holding that is not intended to influence the rights to the structure and the legal proceedings between the litigants to the home,” the IDF said in a statement.
Spokesman David Wilder of Hevron's Jewish community said, "It’s hypocrisy to expel its Jewish residents out of the house then take it over by military order.” Regarding Zion Rd, he said "When it was open to Arab traffic, Jewish lives were at stake." Wilder added that the Jewish community is hoping to prevent the IDF from carrying out the decision by pressuring Barak before he leaves office. “I hope that we’ll have more to say with the people coming into office,” Wilder added.