The High Court of Justice has deferred a decision on whether to expel the residents of Peace House in Hevron, or allow them to stay in the building. The Peace House was purchased by the city's Jewish community from an Arab owner who now denies the sale.
A final ruling on the matter was put off by the Court until the case can be discussed in another session of the High Court, for which a date has not been set.
The Jewish Community Council of Hevron and a construction and investment firm had petitioned the court two weeks ago to grant an injunction against eviction orders issued by the Civil Administration in Judea and Samaria.
Attorney Nadav HaEtzni, who represents the Peace House residents, sent a letter to the Civilian Administration arguing that evicting Jews from the building would be illegal.
HaEtzni pointed out that the Civilian Administration itself signed an order preventing the expulsion of the residents. The Jewish residents have been in the building for several months, and according to administration rules their presence does not represent a fresh invasion and they cannot be evicted, he said.
The dispute centers on conflicting claims by Jewish residents, who began to renovate the empty, half-built structure for habitation after purchasing it for $700,000 from its owner, a Jordanian businessman who later denied selling the building.
The residents moved into the building in March of this year to begin carrying out the renovations.
While Civilian Administration officials said recently that they assume the sale was valid, they nonetheless approved a government request to expel the Jews from the building.The Civil Administration issued several eviction orders after Jews moved into the structure, which have so far been successfully contested by the Hevron Jewish community.
The sale of Arab property to Jews is considered a capital crime punishable by death in the Palestinian Authority, which controls part of the city.