Hevron's Beit HaShalom and Worshippers' Way
Hevron's Beit HaShalom and Worshippers' Way

Portions of an unfinished police investigation have been leaked to the press and reported as if the final conclusion is that Hevron’s Beit HaShalom was acquired using forged documents.

The state prosecution submitted an evaluation to the Supreme Court prior to a hearing Wednesday, expressing uncertainty as to the authenticity of two documents related to the sale.  They are being examined as part of the state’s efforts to negate the sale of Beit HaShalom (Peace House), a large property in Hevron, to the local Jewish community.

The police told the court that the investigation is still in its preliminary stages, and the case has therefore been postponed for now.

Hevron’s Jewish community says that nothing has changed. “The announcement is merely rehashing unfounded accusations,” says Hevron Spokesman David Wilder. “Police won’t say which documents and [individual officers and staff] have given various contradictory statements to different reporters. We have no doubt that the sale was absolutely legal.”

The Jewish community’s legal advisers are confident that the sale will stand up to the greatest scrutiny. They say that not only is the printed documentation impeccable, but videos were also taken of the building’s Arab owner accepting money for the sale as well.

“The left-wing is putting pressure on the prosecution, so every now and then they need headlines to remind the public that we 'don’t belong' here,” says Wilder. “But we are here to stay.”

Several families are living in Beit HaShalom and renovations are ongoing to turn the large house – originally intended as a commercial center with upstairs housing for the builder’s three wives and families – into an apartment building overlooking Kiryat Arba.

Click here for an Arutz-7 photo essay on the ongoing renovation and population of Beit HaShalom.