The Supreme Court delivered the ruling early Thursday evening after declaring a tense recess.
This report was filed earlier:
In order not to lose any time in the event that the Court rules in favor of a forced eviction, large Yassam police forces and others have already begun to amass in Hevron. Checkpoints were imposed on the area this afternoon, forbidding Jews from reaching the holy city.
Hevron spokesman Noam Arnon said, "The behavior of the security forces is an expression of the brutality of the system that is supposed to provide justice and security, but in actuality uses its authority to steal a property from Jews and to trample their rights."
The case at hand involves a 150-year-old building that was purchased over the past several months by the Jewish Community of Hevron. Three Jewish families - who were forced out of a previous Hevron home of theirs earlier this year - moved in to the building in a clandestine overnight operation last month.
However, the Arab sellers complained to the police that the papers were forged, and demanded that the Jews be evicted.
The police hurried to move to evict the Jews, who responded by demanding that the Supreme Court prevent the eviction and transfer the matter to the relevant court.
The owners say they own the property by law, and that the Arabs have filed a false complaint. In addition, the Jews of Hevron "accuse the authorities of abusing their power" in this case, and demand that the issue be decided in court and not by the local police.
Hear a live IsraelNationalRadio interview with Yeshai and Malkah Fleisher, David Wilder and Shlomo Wollins in Hevron.
"Much money was invested in this property," Hevron's Jewish community stated in an announcement, "and the decision to evict us on the basis of false claims by its previous owners is genuine theft via abuse of the government authority."
"In addition," the Jewish Community explained, "the denial by the [Arabs] of the transfer of ownership of the property that they carried out is a common phenomenon, because the transfer places their lives in jeopardy. This is also why they filed their false complaints with the police. The authorities should therefore weigh their steps in light of this basic given, which is known to them as well, and not to make rash decisions. [Instead], the police and Civil Administration rushed to determine, without a professional or objective review, that the papers were forged, and to throw us out... We are certain that if we are given a chance to prove the justness of our cause in court, it will be proven that we own the building legally."
Adding suspense to the case is that Saturday night will mark 30 days since the Jews moved in. When a building is populated in Judea and Samaria, the government has 30 days to declare that its sale or occupancy is suspected of being illegal or problematic and to evict the residents. "After 30 days, it becomes a much more difficult task for them," said Hevron spokesman David Wilder.
The Supreme Court panel hearing the case today is headed by Chief Justice Aharon Barak. Barak suggested that the Jewish occupants evacuate the building and have the matter settled in court. The occupants, remembering a previous deal that was offered to other Jews in Hevron a few months ago, and which was later denied by the authorities, turned him down.
The hundreds of policemen who have arrived in Hevron are prepared to carry out the eviction. The plan is for them to first attempt to conduct negotiations with the families, hoping to have them leave without a struggle. In the inner circle of the expulsion will be Border Guard police and fighters, together with psychologists and rabbis who will try to bridge differences. In the second circle will be special police forces who will attempt to prevent the arrival of Hevron supporters. In the third and outer circle will be IDF forces who will defend the area from Arabs and terrorists.
The building has been vacant for ten years, and was in fact filled with garbage until the new occupants moved in and cleaned it. It is named Beit Shapira, in memory of Shlomo Yitchak Shapira, 48-year-old father of seven. The 621st Israeli victim of the Palestinian Authority's Oslo War, Jerusalem-resident Shapira was murdered during Sukkot celebrations in Hevron in September 2002.
This report was filed earlier:
In order not to lose any time in the event that the Court rules in favor of a forced eviction, large Yassam police forces and others have already begun to amass in Hevron. Checkpoints were imposed on the area this afternoon, forbidding Jews from reaching the holy city.
Hevron spokesman Noam Arnon said, "The behavior of the security forces is an expression of the brutality of the system that is supposed to provide justice and security, but in actuality uses its authority to steal a property from Jews and to trample their rights."
The case at hand involves a 150-year-old building that was purchased over the past several months by the Jewish Community of Hevron. Three Jewish families - who were forced out of a previous Hevron home of theirs earlier this year - moved in to the building in a clandestine overnight operation last month.
However, the Arab sellers complained to the police that the papers were forged, and demanded that the Jews be evicted.
The police hurried to move to evict the Jews, who responded by demanding that the Supreme Court prevent the eviction and transfer the matter to the relevant court.
The owners say they own the property by law, and that the Arabs have filed a false complaint. In addition, the Jews of Hevron "accuse the authorities of abusing their power" in this case, and demand that the issue be decided in court and not by the local police.
Hear a live IsraelNationalRadio interview with Yeshai and Malkah Fleisher, David Wilder and Shlomo Wollins in Hevron.
"Much money was invested in this property," Hevron's Jewish community stated in an announcement, "and the decision to evict us on the basis of false claims by its previous owners is genuine theft via abuse of the government authority."
"In addition," the Jewish Community explained, "the denial by the [Arabs] of the transfer of ownership of the property that they carried out is a common phenomenon, because the transfer places their lives in jeopardy. This is also why they filed their false complaints with the police. The authorities should therefore weigh their steps in light of this basic given, which is known to them as well, and not to make rash decisions. [Instead], the police and Civil Administration rushed to determine, without a professional or objective review, that the papers were forged, and to throw us out... We are certain that if we are given a chance to prove the justness of our cause in court, it will be proven that we own the building legally."
Adding suspense to the case is that Saturday night will mark 30 days since the Jews moved in. When a building is populated in Judea and Samaria, the government has 30 days to declare that its sale or occupancy is suspected of being illegal or problematic and to evict the residents. "After 30 days, it becomes a much more difficult task for them," said Hevron spokesman David Wilder.
The Supreme Court panel hearing the case today is headed by Chief Justice Aharon Barak. Barak suggested that the Jewish occupants evacuate the building and have the matter settled in court. The occupants, remembering a previous deal that was offered to other Jews in Hevron a few months ago, and which was later denied by the authorities, turned him down.
The hundreds of policemen who have arrived in Hevron are prepared to carry out the eviction. The plan is for them to first attempt to conduct negotiations with the families, hoping to have them leave without a struggle. In the inner circle of the expulsion will be Border Guard police and fighters, together with psychologists and rabbis who will try to bridge differences. In the second circle will be special police forces who will attempt to prevent the arrival of Hevron supporters. In the third and outer circle will be IDF forces who will defend the area from Arabs and terrorists.
The building has been vacant for ten years, and was in fact filled with garbage until the new occupants moved in and cleaned it. It is named Beit Shapira, in memory of Shlomo Yitchak Shapira, 48-year-old father of seven. The 621st Israeli victim of the Palestinian Authority's Oslo War, Jerusalem-resident Shapira was murdered during Sukkot celebrations in Hevron in September 2002.