Evicted families set up tent across from contested Hebron home

The families evicted from the contested building in Hebron by IDF forces on Wednesday took a play out of the social justice protesters’ book and set up a tent across the street from Beit Hamachpela Thursday.

The ousted families said they will not move until they are permitted to return to their home. Residents of the nearby settlement of Kiryat Arba joined them in an act of solidarity.

The security establishment said it will forcefully remove the new encampment if the families do not willingly leave.

“We will not leave the area. We set up a public prayer session as is our right, and we set up a tent here which the army has asked us to remove,” one of the tent dwellers told Channel 10 News. “We will continue our protests. It’s a shame there are people who oppose Jews.”

Beit Hamachpela became a point of contention for the Defense Ministry and right-wing MKs and activists when several families moved into a building in Hebron last week that they claimed to have purchased legally.

The Civil Administration contended that the dwellers did not obtain the necessary permits and were therefore trespassing. The families were evicted Wednesday afternoon in a blitzkrieg evacuation by police and soldiers on the order of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, and with the prime minister’s approval.