The constantly-growing Jewish Community of Hevron faces its share of difficulties, in addition to the obvious ones caused by the Oslo War. Here is another, described in a letter to the Chief of the Shomron and Judea Police District, Commander Shachar Ayalon:
\"For this past half-year, ever since Ali Zamir has become the new commander of the Hevron police station, the police have carried out against the Jews of Hevron invasive, violent, and provocative behavior... Their \'determination and dedication\' to their mission of catching such \'major criminals\' as children and innocent residents accused of trivial incidents arouse only our derision. Plainclothes detectives in civilian cars patrol all hours of the day throughout the Jewish neighborhoods, break into homes and yards, search cars, follow and ambush people on their way to work, stores, or doctor visits, as well as children on their way to school. The detectives ambush people on their way out of prayer at Ma\'arat HaMachpela, and in this way, have turned the holy site into a trap.
\"These detectives film homes of Hevron\'s Jews, using special lenses to film inside their homes through the windows, thereby violating and invading their privacy.
\"It is astonishing that at times like these, when police throughout the country face budgetary and manpower shortages due to tremendous security challenges, the local police district is able to allocate funds for a special detective force against us... We serve notice that we will not stand by and continue to be badgered and persecuted while our private lives are invaded. We call on you to put an immediate end to this and stop this detective activity in our midst.\"
A copy of this letter was sent to Public Security Minister Uzi Landau and other ministers, MKs, and public figures. Afterwards, an incident occurred that highlighted not only the provocative nature of the police activity, but also its dangers. Yesterday, plain-clothes detectives in an unmarked white van stopped their vehicle outside the army post in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood, hoping to ensnare a local teenager. The soldiers stationed there thought the van\'s occupants were Arabs about to commit a terrorist attack, and prepared to shoot. They yelled to all Tel Rumeida residents to take cover. At the last minute, one of the officers radioed the van\'s license plate number to the local police, which recognized it as their own, and the \"assault\" was called off. A local resident later said, \"Imagine what would have happened if the \'wanted\' boy had left his house. The detectives would have jumped out, accosted him, and dragged him back to the van. The soldiers, thinking that the \"Arabs\" were kidnapping a Jew, would very likely have started shooting. Can you imagine what the results might have been?\"