City of Hevron
City of HevronBen Bresky

The Judea and Samaria District of the Israel police arrested on Friday afternoon seven extreme leftist activists in Hevron.

They are charged with holding an illegal gathering and creating a provocation.

The seven, six Israelis and one foreign citizen, arrived at the Gross Square in Hevron and began to wave posters denouncing the Jewish settlement in Hevron.

A police force arrived and asked the group to vacate the premises. After giving the leftists reasonable time of over an hour to leave, and after the group attempted to create another provocation, they were arrested by order of district Commander Yisrael Tal.

The incident occurred as thousands of Jews from Israel and around the world were in Hevron, preparing for a festive Sabbath gathering in honor of the Torah portion Chayei Sarah.

The Torah portion describes the Biblical patriarch Abraham’s purchase of the Machpelah Cave in Hevron as a burial site for his wife Sarah. According to Jewish tradition, Abraham, Sarah, their son Yitzchak (Isaac) and his wife Rivka (Rebecca), and Yaakov (Jacob) and his wife Leah are all buried in the cave.

“It is now quiet in the area and the police will work throughout the Sabbath to maintain order and allow for the celebration of Shabbat Chayei Sarah,” said Tal on Friday afternoon, shortly after the arrests of the activists.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American Desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)