Beit HaShalom, (Hebrew: בית השלום, lit. the House of Peace, or, otherwise, Beit HaMeriva ("The House of Contention"),[1] or the Al Rajabi House settlement [2] is a four-story structure that housed a local Hebron Jewish community of 25 families, youth and yeshiva students. The structure is located on the main road linking Kiryat Arba to the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.[3][4][5] The site was reportedly purchased by a descendant of the earlier Hebron community.[6]
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According to the Jewish settlers who lived in the building, in 2007, a deal was signed with the original Palestinian owners of the building, transferring ownership to the local Jewish community.[7] This claim was disputed in the Israeli High Court and in November 2008 the Israeli inhabitants were ordered out of the building, though they refused to leave voluntarily.[8]
Construction on the building by Palestinians originally designed it for mixed-use development as shops and apartments. It was purchased before construction was fully finished.[9] On March 19, hundreds of Israelis from Hebron and Kiryat Arba arrived at the site, including yeshiva students, youth and adults who moved into the building. Rabbi Dov Lior, Chief Rabbi of Hebron and Kiryat Arba, arrived and gave his blessings to the structure and community.[4][10] The settlement was politically controversial as was the legality of the purchase. The then Defense Minister Amir Peretz, and his deputy Efraim Sneh, had stated that they would evacuate the Jewish residents, citing an order from the Israeli military's Civil Administration of the West Bank whereby the occupation or transfer of ownership of homes in the West Bank by Jews needs to be coordinated, as well as a 1980 decision that any expansion of the Jewish community be approved by the Israeli cabinet.[5] Other politicians from both within and without the government lent support to Beit HaShalom. MK Otniel Schneller of the ruling Kadima figured as a prominent supporter, and Interior Minister Roni Bar-On hinted that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would block an evacuation.[11][12]
An Israeli High Court ruling on the 16th. November 2008 determined that some of the sale receipts submitted by the settlers might be forged. An order was issued for the site to be evacuated.[13] After the court order was given, the Israeli settlers built barricades, and prepared to resist efforts to have them evicted.[14]
During 2007, the Israeli media focused on the Jewish community of Beit HaShalom on numerous occasions. The most recent event, during September 2007, was a conflict that community members had with the Ministry of Defense concerning the prohibition of local families from preparing their homes for winter.[3] Concerning the legality of the community's ownership of the building, the Jerusalem Post talked with the spokesperson for the Jewish Hebronite Community, David Wilder, who stated that he was certain that the community "had a strong claim to the structure."[5] On January 21, 2008, Rabbi Dov Lior of Hebron, Rabbi Ya'acov Shapira of Jerusalem's Mercaz haRav Yeshiva, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon of Elon Moreh, and Rabbi Nahum Rabinovitch of Ma'aleh Adumim met at Beit HaShalom to declare the government's policies on Israeli settlements to be "worse than the British Mandate's White Paper."[15]
Windows were installed in March 2008, to replace nylon covers. But screens covering the windows were removed since the permit was only for windows not for shades.
When the High Court ruled in favour of the government's decision to evacuate the site, Baruch Marzel declared that "We must go to war, using any means to prevent this crime from occurring."[16] On December 3, 2008, the Jewish settlers were forcibly expelled from the site by Israeli police. Shortly afterwards, local Jewish extremists went on a rampage through Hebron, during which a Palestinian and his son was shot, and were taken to hospital in serious conditions, the shooter was not apprehended, properties were attacked, and fires started.[17]
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