Hebron Watch

The city of Hebron is home to the West Bank's most extreme Jewish settler community, which includes followers of the late Meir Kahane. Starting in 1979, and with the help of the Israeli government, this small Jewish community (currently numbering some 600 adults and children) has imposed itself on the city's 150,000 Palestinian residents. Cloaking themselves with the mantle of genuine Jewish affection for the city from the time of Abraham, and protected from retaliation by Israel’s army, the Hebron settlers routinely engage in acts of hooliganism, intimidating the city’s Palestinians and destroying their property in a methodical effort to violently drive them out.

These acts by Hebron’s settlers are an offense to Jewish values and undermine Israel’s security. “Hebron Watch” is Meretz USA’s new feature, designed to spread the word about these settler abuses and to give you timely information on the situation. We’ll also keep you updated on such initiatives as the petition we went to Defense Minister Peretz calling for the eviction of Hebron settlers from their latest usurpation.

While our eyes remain focused on the “big picture” – the need for all parties to break the deadlock and resume meaningful negotiations on a two-state solution – we mustn’t forget that, day after day, the occupation continues to take its toll on the Palestinian population of the West Bank. The situation in Hebron is emblematic of all that is wrong in the occupied areas, where Israeli citizens maintain a privileged existence, alongside Palestinians denied fundamental civil and human rights.

B'Tselem reports steep rise of settler violence against Hebron Palestinians
Haaretz
October 19, 2007
According to the latest report of the B'Tselem human rights organization, the level of anti-Palestinian violence carried out by the Hebron settlers has seen a sharp increase since March, when the settlers began to squat in the so-called "House of Dispute".

Peace Now to High Court: Evict Hebron Squatters At Once
Haaretz
September 11, 2007
Israel's Peace Now movement has petitioned the country's High Court of Justice, demanding that the Court overrule an IDF Appeals Board decision to allow the Hebron Squatters to remain in the building they seized until the end of the lengthy legal proceedings.

Explosive and malignant
Yehuda Litani in Ynet
August 10, 2007
Israeli poet Yehuda Amichai once compared Jerusalem to an operation that has remained open while the surgeons went to sleep in a far off place. In Hebron it's an ongoing surgery, where the surgeons are helpless and are wringing their hands in desperation.

Troops refuse to evacuate Hebron families
Efrat Weiss in Ynet
August 6, 2007
As thousands of police officers, soldiers prepare to evacuate two Jewish families from Hebron wholesale market on Tuesday, 30 yeshiva students from Duchifat Battalion announce they will not take part in evacuation after consulting rabbis. Central Command chief: Soldiers to stand disciplinary trial.

'Settlers forged ownership of Hebron House'
Aviram Zino in Ynet
July 3, 2007
State prosecutors claim police investigation reveals settlers from Hebron presented forged documents to prove ownership over disputed house. But case remains open as contradictions in Palestinian story come to light

Visit to a Ghost Town
Amy Kapit, Program Director Meretz USA
June 12, 2007
Between June 11th, 2007 and June 14, 2007, Meretz USA partnered with the World Union of Meretz to sponsor an educational program for young American Jews to visit the West Bank. The second day of the trip was spent in Hebron.

Squatters' rights?
Amos Harel in Haaretz
June 6, 2007
The settlers at the "House of Dispute" in Hebron are using Israel's judicial bureaucracy to the fullest in order to maintain their presence. The Defense Ministry seems happy to do nothing.

"We will have to evacuate the settlers from Hebron"
Lilach Shoval in YNet
June 5, 2007
This is the clear message delivered by Meretz MK Chaim Oron to a Peace Now protest in Hebron.

1968 and 1979: How the settlements of Kiryat Arba and Hebron were founded
The Foundation for Middle East Peace provides this instructive background piece, which describes how, when it comes to the settlers, squatters get their way.

The Spirit of the Commander Prevails
Meron Rapoport in Haaretz
May 20, 2007
In the West Bank, Israel's military is carrying out a number of policies without government authorization, and in defiance of the Supreme Court. Among them is an "apartheid policy" designed to cause the Palestinians to abandon downtown Hebron.

The New Settlement in Hebron
Power Point Presentation by Peace Now
March 2007

Where Silence Reigns: Israel's Separation Policy and Forced Eviction of Palestinians from the Center of Hebron
Report by B'Tselem & The Association for Civil Rights in Israel
May 14, 2007
Israeli authorities impose a regime intentionally and openly based on the "separation principle", as a result of which Israel created legal and physical segregation between the Israeli settlers and the Palestinian majority.

Making a home in Hebron tinderbox
Joel Greenberg in The Chicago Tribune
May 6, 2007
Jewish settlers' move into W. Bank building sparks controversy, brings more troubles for Olmert

Leftists say violently attacked by settlers
Ali Waken in Ynet
April 27, 2007
Left-wing activists assisting Palestinians in Hebron claim to have been beaten by settlers; police hold several people for questioning

Settlers trying to buy two more Hebron homes, create area of control
Amos Harel in Haaretz
April 24, 2007
Capitalizing on a weak and indecisive Israeli government, settlers have recently been trying to purchase two additional Palestinian houses in Hebron, in an attempt to cement an area of settler control between Kiryat Arba and Hebron.

The Other Defeat
Doron Rosenblum in Haaretz
April 20, 2007
It is no coincidence that Sharon and Yitzhak Rabin, the toughest of our generals, dared to stand up to the settlers. Both were cut down, and the battle ended with their fall, perhaps forever.

IDF: Was Hebron street 'intentionally' closed to Palestinians?
Akiva Eldar in Haaretz
April 18, 2007
Shuhada Street in Hebron has been closed to non-Jewish pedestrians for the past six years.

Company that bought Hebron house already in fraud probe
Amos Harel in Haaretz
April 17, 2007
The company that facilitated the purchase of the disputed house in Hebron, recently occupied by settlers, is suspected by the police of having committed forgery and fraud in other settlement activities.

An ominous house of contention
Talia Sasson in Haaretz
April 15, 2007
The acquisition of real estate in the territories has clear diplomatic and security aspects. As ruled by the High Court of Justice, since the area is not under Israeli sovereignty, international law applies to it.

Hebron settlement / Born in sin, living in sin
Yossi Sarid in Haaretz
April 13, 2007
There is no such thing as a kosher deal under occupation. Every purchase and every sale has the stench of foul play sanitized by a law book.

With two bold new actions, settler movement rebounds
Dina Kraft in the JTA
April 2, 2007
Two recent events - the march to Homesh and the alleged purchase of a Palestinian home in Hebron by Jews - are sending a message to the government and the mainstream settler leadership that there's a more aggressive and proactive mood in the settler camp.

Palestinian accuses Hebron settlers of torching his car
Ali Waked in YNet
April 5, 2007
Hebron resident says IDF soldiers did not prevent Jewish settlers from setting his car on fire for fourth time; Palestinian farmers suspect settlers of chopping down 120 of their olive trees.

Injustice in Hebron
Yehuda Litani in Yediot Aharonot
April 5, 2007
The government – all governments – fear the settlers and allow them to run wild. This was the case when settlers overtook Beit Hadassah; it was the case during the settler takeover of homes and shops at the center of Hebron.

B'Tselem Report: New settlement in Hebron violates Palestinian rights and must be evacuated
March 28, 2007
Israel's past practice regarding the settlements and settlers in Hebron indicates that the new Hebron settlement will result in a series of extremely severe violations of Palestinian human rights.

B'Tselem Report: Hebron, Area H-2: Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians (summary)
The full report is available as a PDF file or a Word Document
August 2003