Buildings in Hevron
Buildings in HevronIsrael news photo: Flash 90

Six more Jewish families in Hevron face expulsion after a Jerusalem District Court ruled the purchase of their building was a forgery.

The ruling comes two weeks after the expulsion of 15 families from a building that was proven to be legally purchased, but Defense Minister Ehud Barak determined that the presence of Jews in the three-story structure was a “provocation.”

In the latest case, the Jerusalem court rejected the Tal Lebniya construction company’s declaration that it legally purchased the building from a third-party Arab.

The judge accepted the alleged Arab owner’s claims that the sale may have been forged and added that the purchaser was unable to provide enough details to prove its legality.

The building had been deserted in 2001, after the start of the Second Intifada, also known as the Oslo War. The Jewish families moved in four years later after Tal Lebniya, owned by Moshe Zar, said it had purchased the property.

Another expulsion is bound to add fuel to an intensive campaign among Likud ministers to pass a law that would protect residents from expulsions.

Likud Minister Gilad Erdan flatly stated Sunday morning that the government will find a legal way to prevent the planned expulsion of Jewish families from the Ulpana neighborhood in the town of Beit El, north of Jerusalem and located in Samaria.

The dispute has put Defense Minister Ehud Barak on the firing line as holding positions directly in conflict with coalition principles.