Jewish settlers claim West Bank building
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jewish settlers claim West Bank building*
From correspondents in Hebron
March 20, 2007 06:46am
Article from: Reuters
DOZENS of Jewish settlers took over a building under construction in the
West Bank city of Hebron today, saying they had bought the three-storey
structure.
A local Palestinian family disputed the ownership claim, saying it had
purchased the building from a Palestinian living in Jordan.
Some 400 Israeli settlers live in heavily guarded enclaves in Hebron and
the attempt to expand their presence was likely to stoke tension in the
city, where 150,000 Palestinians live.
There were no immediate reports of violence.
Dozens of settlers, young men wearing Jewish skullcaps, raced into the
building, going from room to room and shouting in Hebrew, "is anyone there?"
The building, under construction and lacking any windows, was empty,
Reuters television footage shot inside the structure showed.
Noam Arnon, a settler leader, said at the scene that settlers had bought
the building through an office in Jordan.
It is situated near a road linking the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba,
on Hebron's outskirts, to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site holy to
Muslims and Jews in the biblical city.
Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, has been a frequent flashpoint of
Israeli-Palestinian violence.