The police arrested 24 Hevron residents early this morning in the course of forcibly attempting to dismantle the protest encampment they have been operating all week. Other Hevron residents took their place, and even held a morning prayer service there - despite army claims that the area had been declared a closed military zone. Police have requested that the Jerusalem Magistrates Court restrict the movements of the 24, while the latter demand that they be freed unconditionally and be allowed to continue to exercise their democratic right to protest.
At approximately 1 PM, Kol Rina News Agency reported that a compromise solution had been reached. The protest encampment will be moved several tens of meters away from Gross Square to a site that is more protected from Palestinian sniper fire.
Dozens of Hevronites of all ages had made their home at the Gross Square encampment this week, demanding that the army reconquer the Abu Sneineh hills. Sniper fire from these hills towards the Jewish neighborhood of Avraham Avinu below is almost unceasing, and has already claimed the life of 10-month-old Shalhevet Pass. Among those arrested was Shalhevet\'s father.
The police claimed that the Jews\' continued presence at Gross Square is dangerous, but the residents say that it is no more dangerous than being inside their own houses. Palestinian bullets, fired from Abu Sneineh and other locations, penetrated several Jewish homes in Hevron two nights ago. In one home, sniper bullets were fired precisely through a small space left open between the sandbags and the top of a window; four bullet holes suddenly appeared in a wall a foot away from where one of the family members was standing. Hevron residents say they are \"touched\" that the army is now concerned for their safety, but \"we advise them to deal with the terrorists shooting at us rather than arresting us for protesting the shooting.\"
Three-time Defense Minister Likud MK Moshe Arens, who visited the site yesterday, appeared later on national television and said: \"The Jews of Hevron are in danger of their lives, and it is the job of the army to protect them. I don\'t see any way to do this other than to take control of certain areas from where the shooting originates... Seventy years ago, the Arabs slaughtered Hevron\'s Jews because the British did not protect them. But today we have the Israel Defense Forces, and there is no reason why we should not do what is necessary to protect the Jews of Hevron.\"
Hevron Jewish Community spokesman David Wilder reports, \"We have friends who live in a building right next to Beit Hadassah. Their kitchen window faces the northern Harat a’Shech hills [another source of Palestinian shooting]. The other day their 12-year-old son Yitzchak had the following conversation with his mother:
“After Shalhevet was killed, we renamed the Abu Sneineh Hills the Shalhevet Hills, right? I have a feeling that the army won\'t take back all the hills surrounding us until one or two more people are killed here. What do you think of the name, the Yitzhak Hills?”
At approximately 1 PM, Kol Rina News Agency reported that a compromise solution had been reached. The protest encampment will be moved several tens of meters away from Gross Square to a site that is more protected from Palestinian sniper fire.
Dozens of Hevronites of all ages had made their home at the Gross Square encampment this week, demanding that the army reconquer the Abu Sneineh hills. Sniper fire from these hills towards the Jewish neighborhood of Avraham Avinu below is almost unceasing, and has already claimed the life of 10-month-old Shalhevet Pass. Among those arrested was Shalhevet\'s father.
The police claimed that the Jews\' continued presence at Gross Square is dangerous, but the residents say that it is no more dangerous than being inside their own houses. Palestinian bullets, fired from Abu Sneineh and other locations, penetrated several Jewish homes in Hevron two nights ago. In one home, sniper bullets were fired precisely through a small space left open between the sandbags and the top of a window; four bullet holes suddenly appeared in a wall a foot away from where one of the family members was standing. Hevron residents say they are \"touched\" that the army is now concerned for their safety, but \"we advise them to deal with the terrorists shooting at us rather than arresting us for protesting the shooting.\"
Three-time Defense Minister Likud MK Moshe Arens, who visited the site yesterday, appeared later on national television and said: \"The Jews of Hevron are in danger of their lives, and it is the job of the army to protect them. I don\'t see any way to do this other than to take control of certain areas from where the shooting originates... Seventy years ago, the Arabs slaughtered Hevron\'s Jews because the British did not protect them. But today we have the Israel Defense Forces, and there is no reason why we should not do what is necessary to protect the Jews of Hevron.\"
Hevron Jewish Community spokesman David Wilder reports, \"We have friends who live in a building right next to Beit Hadassah. Their kitchen window faces the northern Harat a’Shech hills [another source of Palestinian shooting]. The other day their 12-year-old son Yitzchak had the following conversation with his mother:
“After Shalhevet was killed, we renamed the Abu Sneineh Hills the Shalhevet Hills, right? I have a feeling that the army won\'t take back all the hills surrounding us until one or two more people are killed here. What do you think of the name, the Yitzhak Hills?”