Uri Karzen, Director General of the Jewish community of Hevron, on Sunday accused the Israeli government of double standards, following the eviction of 200 Jews from their homes in the city despite the fact that the homes were legally purchased.
“The Minister of Defense put out a statement that we’re trampling the law, which is an incredibly hypocritical statement,” Karzen told Arutz Sheva.
“The Arab building is all over Hevron; they build, they build and no one says anything to them. It’s against all the Hevron agreements. But when the Jews are finally able to purchase a property, they claim that we’re going against the law,” he added.
“We find this hypocritical and we hope it’ll change. We’re going to prove in the courts that the house was purchased legally, and we hope that this will be one of many more Jewish homes that we’ll be able to populate,” said Karzen, who called on Hevron’s supporters overseas to visit the city.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu clarified at the weekly cabinet meeting that Israel will permit the 200 evicted Jews to return once they receive the proper permits.
"The government supports the settlements at any time, especially in days like these, when they are under terrorist assault and are taking a courageous and determined stand in the face of terrorist attacks," the Prime Minister said, adding that "at the same time, we are a lawful country and must respect the rule of the law."
"The moment that the purchase process is authorized, we will allow the population of the two houses in Hebron," Netanyahu stressed.
"We will begin the examination today and we will do it quickly. If it doesn’t come to an end within a week, I will make sure that a status report will be submitted to the cabinet," noted Netanyahu.