Building Bridges: Evict the thugs from Hebron

In recent weeks, due to the upcoming elections, the three candidates for the premiership, Ehud Barak, Tzipi Livni and Binyamin Netanyahu - have taken to verbally attacking negative elements within the extreme Right.  Meanwhile, the authorities' resolve in combating settler violence has weakened even as incidents grow more frequent.

None of them expected that the moment of truth would come so soon when the High Court of Justice ruled that a house invaded by several settlers in central Hebron must be evacuated. The ruling orders law enforcement authorities and the political echelon to stand alongside the court in confronting the thugs of the extreme Right, and do their utmost to turn speeches and declarations into reality.

The disputed house that was claimed by Jewish residents as Beit Hashalom [House of Peace], ironically, is a clear and significant example of the weak and illegitimate government response to the settlers' attempts to create their own reality on the ground and decide for themselves where they can live and when.

After settlers first invaded the house in March 2007 by cover of night and with no authorization from the political establishment, then-defense minister Amir Peretz issued immediate eviction orders.

As expected, in the 'Land of Settlers', orders from the Defense Ministry are taken as mere suggestions. As a result, the settlers in the house stayed put and with the help of the army, turned the house into a fortified structure. IDF forces were then sent into the disputed house not to evacuate, but to secure it and protect the settlers living there illegally, around the clock. As in many other cases beforehand, the extreme right proved that the Israeli government understood only force and that the use of violent thuggish approaches were well worth it.

From a legal perspective and after verifying the issue with the legal establishment, it was proven that the settlers' claims that the house was purchased with monetary compensation and that their residence there was legal, were not credible. There were even suspicions that the documents testifying to the purchase of the house were forged. Nevertheless, the house was not evacuated.

As in dozens of cases before, the only source forced to save democracy from the dark alley it was pushed into was the High Court of Justice, which had no choice but to rule on the matter using legal tools to reach the required decision. High Court judges, who are aware of the public erosion to their reputation and the consistent attempts by extreme rightists to portray them as politically biased, could not rule otherwise. By all legal standards, the settlers have no right to stay in the house and were the whole incident not in the heart of Hebron, they would have been evacuated by police forces months ago.

Currently settlers have threatened that Hebron would become Amona II, meaning that, just like cases precedent in which the High Court ordered the state to enforce the law, this time as well, dozens of young and determined people will flock to the area in order to confront security forces and terrorize Israeli society.

The Israeli Right is trying - with much success - to carve into the public's conscience the evacuation of the nine structures in Amona as an act of state violence against innocent and law-abiding citizens. Even those in the moderate Right's leadership who criticize extreme incidents of incitement and violence, fully support these trespassers in Hebron and repeat the threats that Amona is about to repeat itself in this case.

When a complex and tangled challenge has been presented to the Israeli public where a dramatic response is required, it must be expected from all those who stand to become the next prime minister, not to remain quiet but to loudly and unequivocally voice their stance on the matter. The execution of the High Court ruling is the bare minimum required by the government in order to preserve democracy and prevent anarchy. Submission to the threats and the pressure will only delay the inevitable and will lead the next confrontation to be even more dangerous and violent.