RAMALLAH: Israel’s High Court yesterday ordered the Jewish occupiers of a disputed house in West Bank city of Hebron to vacate the premises within three days. The court rejected their petition against an order issued by the state to vacate Hebron house, which occupiers claim they had purchased from a Palestinian, who denies selling the house.
The court ruled that the building of Palestinian resident, Fayez Rajabi, would be held by the state until the issue of its ownership is clarified. If the building is not vacated within the allotted time-frame, the court stated, families living in the building could be forcibly evicted.
The court also ordered the petitioners, Tal Construction and Investment of Karnei Shomron and the Society for the Renewal of the Jewish Community in Hebron, to pay 15,000 Israeli Shekel ($3,800) in court fees.
Until the question of proprietary rights is determined, noted the court, the statute does not permit any one side to take possession of the property without the owner’s consent. In order to make sure neither side tries to defy the court order, the judges ordered the house doors be sealed by the army.
In late October, a panel of three justices headed by Supreme Court President Dorit Beinisch urged the attorney representing the alleged Jewish occupiers of the four-story building to advise his clients to withdraw the petition and leave the disputed building voluntarily.
But Attorney Nadav Ha’etzni instead submitted new evidence which he claimed proved not only that the Jewish company bought the building, but was also in possession of it when dozens of settlers occupied it in March 2007.
This evidence included a tape recording of a phone conversation between the Palestinian who claims to own the building, Rajabi, and an unidentified Palestinian.
The state’s position is that Rajabi was still in possession of the building when settlers allegedly illegally occupied it on March 19, 2007.
