The Supreme Court removed today a restraining order stopping the construction of a four-story building for seven Jewish families in Admot Yeshai (Tel Rumeida), a largely Jewish-owned area. Jews have lived in flimsy caravans in the neighborhood since 1984; Rabbi Shlomo Raanan, grandson of the famed Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaKohen Kook, was murdered in his home there five years ago when a terrorist climbed in through the window. The families began building their permanent homes last September, but this was stopped by court order five months later - at the behest of archaeologists and Peace Now leader Mossi Raz. They claimed that the construction was causing damage to antiquities at the site, even though Dr. Yitzhak Magen, responsible for archeological excavations in Yesha, had previously approved the plans.



Construction will resume immediately, according to Hevron spokesman David Wilder, and it is hoped that the families will be able to move into their new apartments by the end of 2003. The court injunction still stands against the second stage of construction, planned for an additional nine apartments.