Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has approved Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s order to expel dozens of Jewish residents from the Hevron Peace House.An official eviction order is to be issued today by the Coordinator of Operations in Judea and Samaria, Major-General Yosef Mishlev.

 

Peretz announced his intention last week to expel the residents from the building, which was purchased from its Arab owner two years ago for $700,000.

 

The former owner was subsequently arrested by Palestinian Authority  (PA) police for having sold property to a Jew, a crime punishable by death in the PA and Jordan.

 

Peretz publicly announced he would order the expulsion a week ago despite fierce opposition by Knesset members both within and outside the coalition government, including lawmakers from the ruling Kadima party who said they intended to block his move.

 

The Defense Minister is now expected to sign an official expulsion order. The residents of the house and their supporters will have the right to appeal the decision. If their appeal is rejected, security forces will enter the building and forcibly expel them.

 

Noam Arnon, the spokesman of Hevron’s Jewish community, said Tuesday evening that Mazuz’s support for the expulsion is unsurprising. Arnon explained that Mazuz is known for his hostility towards Jewish settlement in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza, which leads him to support the expulsion of the Peace House Jews.despite  military officials opposing it.

 

Mazuz joined Peretz in targeting the Jewish residents in Hevron, charged Arnon, saying he “has drawn a circle around Peretz’s arrow.”  Arnon called on the government to prevent the “anti-Semitic crime” of expelling Jews from their homes.



The Council to Save the People and the Land responded to the announcement by saying that Mazuz will “disappear from history along with Defense Minister Amir Peretz.”

 

Mazuz and Peretz will have the merit to see the Peace House populated by dozens of Jewish families despite their disapproval, the Council added.