Settlers say compromise in the works over Hebron homes

A settler group at the center of a controversial takeover of two buildings in the West Bank city of Hebron last week says a compromise with Israeli authorities is in the works.

Border Police forces evacuated several dozen Jewish settlers from the two houses on Friday morning, a day after they entered the buildings, claiming they had bought them from Palestinians.

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon ordered their removal, called them “intruders” on Friday and said they had acted in “brazen” breach of the law.

But according to “settler sources” cited by Israel Radio Sunday morning, a compromise agreement is in the works that would see them occupy one of the buildings while the legality of their claimed purchase of both is examined by Defense Ministry officials.

The officials are demanding that the homes open toward the Jewish neighborhood of Avraham Avinu, and not have any openings toward Palestinian areas of the city, in order to prevent possible shooting or firebombing attacks, the report said.

Discussions on entering the second home will take place later, according to the report.

The report comes after a weekend that saw a minor political crisis over the Friday evacuation, with lawmakers from the Jewish Home and Likud parties, including senior cabinet ministers, slamming Ya’alon over the decision to remove the settlers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday came out in support of his defense minister.

“I support settlement, and appreciate the settlers who every day stand against terrorism with courage and determination,” Netanyahu said from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Channel 10 reported. But, he added, “we are all required to respect the law.”

“The State of Israel is a nation of laws, and I have no intention of compromising when the law is broken,” Ya’alon said in a statement. “In the case of the homes in Hebron, the law was brazenly broken. In order to occupy a house, one must carry out several legal steps, none of which were carried out here. For this reason, the intruders were evacuated.”

The Jewish Home party, in a statement, called the decision to evacuate the homes “irresponsible, bullheaded and inflammatory.” It castigated Ya’alon’s focus on alleged settler breaches of the law at a time when Israel was being targeted by Palestinian terrorism.

Three Knesset members from Likud and Jewish Home threatened to boycott coalition votes unless the settlers were allowed to return to the buildings. Other Likud lawmakers were also critical of the move. Likud ministers Ze’ev Elkin and Yariv Levin protested the evacuation, and Levin said he wanted Sunday’s cabinet meeting to approve the return of the settlers to the buildings.

Ya’alon panned the storm of criticism that erupted on the right after news of the evacuation broke.

“I call on the ministers, Knesset members and elected officials to act responsibly, to restrain their remarks and to support the rule of law, and not to encourage (individuals) to take the law into their own hands and break it,” said Ya’alon, himself a Likud MK, calling such behavior “a surefire recipe for anarchy.”

He added: “The conduct and statements of several politicians on this matter borders on wild abandon and damages our national resilience.”

Environmental Protection Minister Avi Gabai (Kulanu) backed Ya’alon, saying the issue at hand was “whether the rule of law is obligating or only a suggestion to be winked at.”

Zionist Union MK Tzipi Livni said the right’s attacks on Ya’alon “prove that it is not the security of Israel they value, but an ideology that will lead to one state at the cost of Israel, its security and the rule of law.”

She added that “Judea and Samaria will not be the Wild West ruled by the hilltop youth” — a reference to radicalized young settler activists.

The army has forbidden entry into the buildings, posting soldiers outside to prevent anyone from going in.

The settlers entered the homes near the Tomb of the Patriarchs on Thursday, using crowbars to break in, and raising the Israeli flag on the roof. They claimed the homes were secretly bought from the Palestinian owners.

Palestinians said the buildings were taken over illegally and they clashed with the settlers. The riots were broken up by security forces.