Hevron's Beit Shapira has been isolated by the police and the forced eviction of its Jewish residents will probably begin Sunday morning, community members say. They are calling upon loyalist of the Land of Israel and Jewish property rights to make their way to Hevron.
Mid-day Friday, IDF forces erected checkpoints along the roads leading to the building. Despite the efforts of the security forces, Hevron residents say "masses" of people had already made their way into the building, joining the three families (22 people in all) already living in the semi-renovated building. Security forces reportedly refused to allow food for the Sabbath to be brought in.
The community has issued a call upon all those faithful to the Land of Israel to make their way to Hevron to protest the injustice being perpetrated against them. The call is being circulated far and wide via SMS text messages. They say checkpoints will certainly be set up all along the way, but should be bypassed in order to struggle against the impending expulsion.
Despite thorough documentation of the sale, the police claimed that the documents were forged. Israel's Supreme Court declined to review the evidence, referring the case to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court to examine instead. The court did, however, order the residents to leave the building until a verdict is reached – something that could take months.
Hevron community leaders decided at a late-night meeting Thursday night to reject the court order to voluntarily leave the building, saying, "This building was purchased for a tremendous amount of money and the sale is 100 percent legal. The Supreme Court ruling was not based on legal issues, but rather on political considerations, which were raised by the state prosecutor during [Thursday]'s hearing. We have no intention to leave the building voluntarily."
Shortly after the meeting, a call was issued to Israeli youth to come to Hevron for a special Sabbath, and to remain in the city on Sunday to participate in the struggle for the building.
Police began blocking roads on the outskirts of Hebron Friday, stopping busses and refusing to allow them to continue to Hebron. Many people report, though, that with persistence and patience they were able to reach the city.
Many of Hevron's residents are still furious with the decision to comply with a deal offered by the IDF to leave the Hevron marketplace willingly in February. The deal was reluctantly complied with, relying on a promise that Jews would be permitted to return to the undisputedly Jewish-owned property at a later date. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz recently declared, however, that the government is not bound by the deal.
Two of the three families that now live in Beit Shapira had been among those who left the Hevron marketplace, called the Shalhevet neighborhood after 10-month-old Shalhevet Pass who was murdered by an Arab sniper while in her stroller nearby.
Police Preparing For Violence, Removing Name-Tags
Residents reported that police and Yassam riot-squad members converged upon Hevron over the course of the Sabbath. They say the police seem to be preparing for even more intense clashes than the brutal Amona demolitions in February. Police present were spotted without their identification tags, a move that was repeatedly condemned by the Knesset Commission of Inquiry following the events at Amona. The Hevron leadership, via Knesset Members from National Union and Shas, lodged a demand with the Police Commissioner to order his officers to display their name tags in accordance with the law.
Shas MK David Azoulai spoke with the Police Commissioner and Regional Commander of Judea and Samaria, objection to the fact that troops were being forced to violate the Sabbath in preparation for the expulsion despite the fact that the court had given them until Monday, specifically to prevent such needless violations. Both men promised Azoulai that the Sabbath desecration would be avoided and the officers' tags would be displayed.
The officers in the field soon received an order to display their tags, but during the course of the Sabbath they were seen having removed them once again. Susequent complaints have not been answered.
One of the young men who has made his way into Beit Shapira despite the siege placed on the building spoke with Arutz-7, saying: "This is not going to be Gush Katif. We will remove the humiliation resulted from the marketplace deal and the people of Hevron, together with those of the Kommemiyut movement and all those faithful to the Land of Israel will come out this time to struggle."
Kommemiyut is a youth organization founded after the Gaza expulsion by rabbis including Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beit El and Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba. It was created to offer youth an ideological leadership that would not buckle under pressure from the government in its struggle for the future of the nation and land of Israel.
Mid-day Friday, IDF forces erected checkpoints along the roads leading to the building. Despite the efforts of the security forces, Hevron residents say "masses" of people had already made their way into the building, joining the three families (22 people in all) already living in the semi-renovated building. Security forces reportedly refused to allow food for the Sabbath to be brought in.
The community has issued a call upon all those faithful to the Land of Israel to make their way to Hevron to protest the injustice being perpetrated against them. The call is being circulated far and wide via SMS text messages. They say checkpoints will certainly be set up all along the way, but should be bypassed in order to struggle against the impending expulsion.
Despite thorough documentation of the sale, the police claimed that the documents were forged. Israel's Supreme Court declined to review the evidence, referring the case to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court to examine instead. The court did, however, order the residents to leave the building until a verdict is reached – something that could take months.
Hevron community leaders decided at a late-night meeting Thursday night to reject the court order to voluntarily leave the building, saying, "This building was purchased for a tremendous amount of money and the sale is 100 percent legal. The Supreme Court ruling was not based on legal issues, but rather on political considerations, which were raised by the state prosecutor during [Thursday]'s hearing. We have no intention to leave the building voluntarily."
Shortly after the meeting, a call was issued to Israeli youth to come to Hevron for a special Sabbath, and to remain in the city on Sunday to participate in the struggle for the building.
Police began blocking roads on the outskirts of Hebron Friday, stopping busses and refusing to allow them to continue to Hebron. Many people report, though, that with persistence and patience they were able to reach the city.
Many of Hevron's residents are still furious with the decision to comply with a deal offered by the IDF to leave the Hevron marketplace willingly in February. The deal was reluctantly complied with, relying on a promise that Jews would be permitted to return to the undisputedly Jewish-owned property at a later date. Attorney General Menachem Mazuz recently declared, however, that the government is not bound by the deal.
Two of the three families that now live in Beit Shapira had been among those who left the Hevron marketplace, called the Shalhevet neighborhood after 10-month-old Shalhevet Pass who was murdered by an Arab sniper while in her stroller nearby.
Police Preparing For Violence, Removing Name-Tags
Residents reported that police and Yassam riot-squad members converged upon Hevron over the course of the Sabbath. They say the police seem to be preparing for even more intense clashes than the brutal Amona demolitions in February. Police present were spotted without their identification tags, a move that was repeatedly condemned by the Knesset Commission of Inquiry following the events at Amona. The Hevron leadership, via Knesset Members from National Union and Shas, lodged a demand with the Police Commissioner to order his officers to display their name tags in accordance with the law.
Shas MK David Azoulai spoke with the Police Commissioner and Regional Commander of Judea and Samaria, objection to the fact that troops were being forced to violate the Sabbath in preparation for the expulsion despite the fact that the court had given them until Monday, specifically to prevent such needless violations. Both men promised Azoulai that the Sabbath desecration would be avoided and the officers' tags would be displayed.
The officers in the field soon received an order to display their tags, but during the course of the Sabbath they were seen having removed them once again. Susequent complaints have not been answered.
One of the young men who has made his way into Beit Shapira despite the siege placed on the building spoke with Arutz-7, saying: "This is not going to be Gush Katif. We will remove the humiliation resulted from the marketplace deal and the people of Hevron, together with those of the Kommemiyut movement and all those faithful to the Land of Israel will come out this time to struggle."
Kommemiyut is a youth organization founded after the Gaza expulsion by rabbis including Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beit El and Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba. It was created to offer youth an ideological leadership that would not buckle under pressure from the government in its struggle for the future of the nation and land of Israel.