Jewish settlers in the West Bank city of Hebron were evicted from a home near the Cave of the Patriarchs without incident, according to Israeli security forces.
The April 4 evacuation, which removed Jewish families from the home they had entered a week ago, reportedly took only a few minutes. It was carried out on the orders of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and top government ministers had decided the settlers would be removed from the home unless they could prove they had legally purchased it.
In his April 4 Cabinet meeting, Netanyahu said he would submit a plan to legalize the outposts of Bruchin, Sansana and Rechalim (said to be built on private Palestinian land) and avoid the demolition of another, the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El. — jta