WEST BANK: Palestinian disputes Jewish settlers claim to having bought house in West Bank city of Hebron

A Palestinian has disputed a claim by Israeli Jewish settlers that they had bought a house in the West Bank city of Hebron before moving into it on Monday. He said he owns papers that prove his ownership of the house, which he says he has been building for the past 13 years. A Palestinian resident of the West Bank city of Hebron disputed on Tuesday (March 20) a claim by Israeli settlers who moved into a house in the city saying they had bought it. Dozens of Jewish settlers took over a building under construction in the city on Monday (March 19), saying they had bought the three-story structure. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said on Tuesday the presence of Jewish settlers inside the West Bank city of Hebron has created an "unbearable situation" for Israel and the Palestinians. Holding papers he said proved his ownership of the building, Palestinian Fayez Arrajabi said he has spent the past 13 years building the house. "This house is mine, I complained yesterday to the Israelis and to the radios and TV stations, the Israeli response was that they want to check, this is the best they could say. But this house is mine, get out the settlers and then check it, how do you leave the settlers inside and tell me you want to check it? This is my house. I built it stone by stone, stone over stone, I have been constructing it for the past 13 years, then suddenly a settler comes God knows where from, and comes and lives in my house and says that this is his house," Arrajabi said. Peres told Israel's Army Radio the settlers should be evicted if they had acted unlawfully, but said a solution was needed in any case to the problem in Hebron. A Police spokesman said that the situation in Hebron is being investigated. "Approximately 200 student settlers from Hebron area took over one of the buildings, apparently a Palestinian building, they claimed that they had the documents that they own the building. Those individuals have been there throughout the night as well as this morning and the police have received an official request and a complain from three Palestinians claiming they also own the building. At this moment in time we carried investigations to understand exactly who owns the building and we are hoping for some results in the near future," Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told Reuters. In a similar incident that took place a few months ago in Hebron, a Jewish settler family made similar claims as they took over another Palestinian home. The case went to court which ruled against the settlers, saying the papers they represented are false. "We learn from mistakes we do (presenting false ownership documents to the court in similar incident several months ago), we didn't do the mistake again. This time we have a lot more than papers, we have a lot of proof, and if we have to show it, we'll show the proof we have we bought the land and we gave the money to the owner. He gave us the papers and we own this building," settler leader Barouch Marzel told Reuters. Some 400 Israeli settlers live in Hebron in heavily guarded enclaves and the attempt to expand their presence was likely to stoke tensions in the city, where 150,000 Palestinians reside. The building newly taken over by settlers is situated near a road linking the nearby Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site holy to Muslims and Jews in the biblical city. Hebron has been a frequent flashpoint of Israeli-Palestinian violence. Settlers in Hebron say they have a biblical right to live in the ancient city. Palestinians see them as usurpers.

ITN Source | March 21, 2007

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