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Settler rampage in Hebron


From Zawya
Bracing for more trouble after settlers' rioting
Security forces were braced on Friday for more violence after Israeli hardliners went on the rampage against Palestinians in retaliation for the eviction of settlers from a disputed house in the West Bank city of Hebron.

The entire southern West Bank was declared a closed military zone to prevent Israelis from converging again on the flashpoint city where a mob of Jewish extremists on Thursday shot and wounded three Palestinians, hurled rocks at others and torched homes, fields and cars.

Authorities feared the violence would continue as right-wingers said they would exact revenge for Thursday's forcible eviction of some 250 settlers from the house that had come to symbolize hardliners' determination to fight for what they consider their right to all the biblical Land of Israel including the Palestinian Territories.

"Already now there is great fear of a Jewish terrorist attack directed against Muslims", the Maariv newspaper warned.

The authorities were also worried about a Palestinian backlash amid simmering anger over the perceived failure of Israel's security forces to protect them from the rampaging mob in Hebron.

Security was boosted around Jerusalem's mosque compound ahead of Friday prayers and access was restricted to Muslims holding Israeli identity cards and aged over 45 in the case of men, with no age restrictions for women.

Most Israeli media hailed security forces for finally removing the settlers from the Hebron house on Thursday following an Israeli high court order on November 16.

Police used stun grenades and tear gas to evict the settlers, dragging out several who refused to move, in an operation lasting less than an hour.

But authorities also came under harsh criticism for failing to protect Palestinians who live around what has been dubbed "the House of Contention".

"If the serious attacks carried out by settlers continue, it will sabotage the peace process", said Nabil Abu-Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The presence of a few hundred Jewish settlers in Hebron's center, and a further 6,500 in nearby Kiryat Arba, has been a source of tension in the Palestinian city of 170,000 long before 100 or so Israelis moved into the disputed house in March last year.

In 1994, a Jewish extremist massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, a site holy to Jews and Muslims alike.

The international community considers Jewish settlements in the West Bank to be illegal, and the Palestinians say they are the biggest obstacle to the peace talks.

Some background on the settlers of Hebron from Amanda White at mediamonitors.net
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