Forty-eight Members of Knesset signed a petition on Monday calling on Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to reconsider an order to vacate the Peace House (Beit HaShalom) in Hevron. The MKs asked Mazuz to rethink his position in light of new evidence supporting the Peace House residents' claim that the building was bought legally.
The new evidence came in the form of an audio recording submitted to the state prosecution and the High Court in which the original owner of the house, a Palestinian Authority Arab, tells a friend that he sold the building of his own free will to a Jordanian man, who sold it to Jews. The tape undermines the original owner's initial version of the story, according to which the building was stolen.
"As public representatives we believe that the new tape, which was broadcast by the media, reinforces the disturbing questions surrounding the decision to clear the building of its residents/owners,” the petition said. “The residents appear to have important evidence to support their claims, but they cannot make use of the evidence because the debate is taking place in the High Court.... For this reason alone, they are likely to find themselves outside the building they bought for a high price during the entire trial, which is likely to last for years. Such a result would be an outrageous injustice,” they said.
The petitioners warned Mazuz that failing to take the new evidence into consideration could seriously undermine public trust in the judicial system. “A heavy feeling of blatant discrimination and injustice has accompanied this entire process,” they wrote.
The Jewish community of Hevron purchased the Peace House several years ago for $700,000. When the sale was made public, the original Arab owner was arrested by the Palestinian Authority and accused of selling property to a Jew - a capital crime under PA law. The owner insisted that the building still belonged to him, and accused the new Jewish residents of invading his home.
Despite signed documents and video evidence supporting the Jewish community's claim that the property was bought legally, the state insisted that Jewish families leave the building. While legal proceedings dragged on, Jews remained in the structure, but were not allowed to install electricity and had to wage a lengthy court battle before winning the right to put in windows in mid-winter.
Residents now fear that the High Court is planning to order the Jewish residents evicted while a trial over the building's status continues. Hundreds flocked to the Peace House on Monday following rumors that Jews would be forcibly evicted from the building at some point during the night. Twenty Jewish families have been living in the structure for a year and a half.