Dozens of Hevron-area Jews briefly took over an abandoned building on Jewish-owned land adjacent to the Avraham Avinu neighborhood early this morning. The building, known as Beit HaChakim [Building of the Knesset Members], is located near the Casba marketplace of Hevron, part of which the PA is feverishly refurbishing. The building was purchased by Jews in the early 1980\'s, and received its name shortly afterwards when MKs Rabbi Eliezer Waldman, Geulah Cohen, and others occupied it for a few days to protest the refusal to allow the purchasers to live in it.
This morning, Jews again attempted to take it over, protesting against the severe security situation. After military forces arrived and explained the added security risks of living there, the residents decided to leave \"in order not to clash with the army.\" They said they were doing so as a gesture of \"good will,\" recognizing that their security needs are a matter of public discourse. One of the residents, Hevron resident Ruti Hizmi, explained to Arutz-7 today:
\"We woke up at 4 AM, and went into the building. We wished to make it clear that what is going on here is genuine abandonment. It\'s not the army\'s fault, but night after night we find ourselves in a real war, with entire nights of shooting, and some times during the day as well. Just three days ago two Jews were murdered outside Kiryat Arba. We are not willing to go like sheep to the slaughter. The enemy is making war against us, and our government is not responding! Where else is there such a situation? Our enemy senses that he has nothing to lose, and keeps shooting; our army responds feebly in accordance with the instructions it receives. The other night, it appeared that there was really a change of direction - heavy IDF shooting, and frantic activity on the army radio [that we can monitor]... We were up all night with the shooting, and it sounded really serious - then we wake up in the morning and find that nothing had happened. The Arabs even shot at us the next day again!…\" The Arabs also shot at them later today.
It was reported late this afternoon that the 19-year-old Jewish girl accused of assaulting an Arab boy in Hevron was released from custody today, three days after she was arrested. She will be confined to her home in Jerusalem.
This morning, Jews again attempted to take it over, protesting against the severe security situation. After military forces arrived and explained the added security risks of living there, the residents decided to leave \"in order not to clash with the army.\" They said they were doing so as a gesture of \"good will,\" recognizing that their security needs are a matter of public discourse. One of the residents, Hevron resident Ruti Hizmi, explained to Arutz-7 today:
\"We woke up at 4 AM, and went into the building. We wished to make it clear that what is going on here is genuine abandonment. It\'s not the army\'s fault, but night after night we find ourselves in a real war, with entire nights of shooting, and some times during the day as well. Just three days ago two Jews were murdered outside Kiryat Arba. We are not willing to go like sheep to the slaughter. The enemy is making war against us, and our government is not responding! Where else is there such a situation? Our enemy senses that he has nothing to lose, and keeps shooting; our army responds feebly in accordance with the instructions it receives. The other night, it appeared that there was really a change of direction - heavy IDF shooting, and frantic activity on the army radio [that we can monitor]... We were up all night with the shooting, and it sounded really serious - then we wake up in the morning and find that nothing had happened. The Arabs even shot at us the next day again!…\" The Arabs also shot at them later today.
It was reported late this afternoon that the 19-year-old Jewish girl accused of assaulting an Arab boy in Hevron was released from custody today, three days after she was arrested. She will be confined to her home in Jerusalem.