With signs increasingly pointing to wide-scale governmental opposition to Defense Minister Amir Peretz's plan to evict the Jews from their new building in Hevron, the residents say: "If they try to get us out, we'll be ready."

The Jewish Community of Hevron duly purchased the large building two years ago, via a Jordanian businessman, for $700,000.  Though some Israeli officials say they are still checking the legality of the sale, the Arabs are not waiting; the former Arab owner has already been arrested and charged with selling property to a Jew, a capital offense under both Jordanian and Palestinian Authority law.

Some 20 families from Hevron and environs joyously moved into the building immediately upon the publication of the sale three weeks ago.  Many of the tens of thousands of visitors to Hevron over the Passover holiday also stopped off at the building, expressing happiness at the acquisition of another Jewish property in the City of the Patriarchs.  Adding to the sense of celebration was the critical location of the building - along the Arab-populated road leading from Kiryat Arba to the Jewish section of Hevron. 

Peretz: You'll Be Out Within Two Weeks

The joy was somewhat doused Thursday night with the announcement by Defense Minister Amir Peretz of Labor that he plans to evacuate the Jews from the building.  He explained that even if the sale is legal, the residents had failed to obtain permission from the defense establishment before moving in, as is required in Judea and Samaria.  Labor MK Ephraim Sneh seconded Peretz's position.

Peretz has been under fire within his Labor Party for not evacuating Jewish outposts in Judea and Samaria as he promised.  His decision was thus greeted by many political figures (see below) as merely serving his own political needs.

Political Opposition to Peretz

By Friday, however, it appeared likely that Peretz would have a hard time implementing his decision.  MK Effie Eitam said that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told him last week that he would not allow Peretz to evacuate the building.  "If the building in Hevron was acquired legally," Olmert reportedly told Eitam, "I won't let Peretz evacuate it."  Eitam said he met with the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Roni Bar-On (Kadima) on the issue. 

"Evacuating this building," Eitam said he told Olmert, "would be against rules of natural justice and the legitimate rights of Jews to acquire property and to live in their homes everywhere in the Land of Israel."

In addition, Kadima MK Otniel Schneller said that most of his party colleagues in the Knesset intend to block Peretz’s "politically-based" plan to evacuate Peace House.  Kadima Knesset faction leader Avigdor Yitzchaki also expressed his support for the Jewish residents of Peace House in a visit Thursday afternoon, together with Likud MK Gidon Saar.

"Peretz must not be allowed to thrown the whole country into a tizzy because of his own personal political considerations," MK Eitam said, in reference to Peretz's all-but-lost bid to retain his leadership of the Labor Party.  Labor will hold party primaries for the leadership late next month.

Preparing the Building

The house is called "Peace House," Hevron spokesman David Wilder explained to Arutz-7, "because our goal is to live in peace with our neighbors.  "And in fact, though our new house is surrounded on three sides by Arabs, as is the road that leads to it, they have not reacted with any hostility to our presence."

Despite the encouraging signs on the political front, preliminary plans are being made to bring in supporters from all over the country to rebuff any attempt to evacuate the structure. 

In addition, the residents are continuing to make the giant structure ready for habitation for some 20 new families.  This will partially ease the housing crisis for the Jewish Community of Hevron, which has been stifled by lack of space for new families for some time. 

The four-story building - part of which has two- and three-story-high ceilings - was apparently designed by the Arab owner to be a shopping mall, new residents say.  In light of the updated plans to make it a residential building for Jews, plasterboard walls have already been put up to fashion separate "apartments" for the various families.  The bottom floor is currently serving as a joint dining room, synagogue, work-tools storeroom and welcoming-area for the many guests and well-wishers.

Minister Eitan's Stance

Pensioners Affairs Minister Rafi Eitan, head of the Pensioners Party and a veteran defense figure, told Arutz-7's Uzi Baruch today that he supports the Jewish presence in the new building.  "The building must remain in Jewish hands," Eitan said, "because it is in territory that is totally Israel.  In 1996, an agreement was signed [giving away most of Hevron to the Palestinian Authority - ed.] that essentially divides Hevron [into Jewish and Arab areas].  That agreement stipulates clearly that the road between the Machpelah Cave and Kiryat Arba remains under Israeli control - and therefore this building must remain Israeli."

Two Border Guard policemen were stabbed by an Arab terrorist in Hevron Sunday afternoon, on the eve of the Seventh of Passover holiday. One of the victims is in moderate-to-serious condition.

A 17-year-old Arab of Hevron, armed with a knife, approached a Border Guard jeep between the Machpelah Cave and Beit Hadassah shortly after noon on Sunday. He opened the door and stabbed two policemen sitting inside. Another Border Guard policeman managed to shoot the would-be murderer, who was not killed but was only wounded in the foot.

Security forces at scene of attack
Hebron.com

The wounded victims were evacuated by Magen David Adom ambulances to Hadassah Hospital in Ein Karem, Jerusalem. One of them is reported in moderate-to-serious condition with wounds in his back, while the other was hurt lightly in his hand.

Israeli security forces quickly closed off the area, including the Machpelah Cave and the dozens of Jewish worshippers inside.

Wounded policemen evacuated in ambulance
Hebron.com

More pictures of Hevron attack

An estimated 50,000 Jews visited the Jewish areas of Hevron on Wednesday and Thursday, without incident.
Just a month ago, a female Arab terrorist was caught near the Machpelah Cave with a knife; she said she had planned to stab a soldier. Six months ago, a soldier was stabbed in the same area.

Shifra Hoffman, founder of Victims of Arab Terror (VAT International), says that this and other terrorist attacks against Israelis are directly related to the government's willingness to release murderous terrorists from prison. She told Arutz-7 today, "The Government of Israel, with its policies of appeasement and cowardice, must be held responsible for all future attacks that may be perpetrated by the terrorist murderers that it plans to release in exchange for [hostage IDF soldier] Gilad Shalit. VAT International believes that this is double jeopardy; the Government of Israel is murdering the Jewish victims of Arab terror a second time by releasing their murderers."

Hevron activist resident Baruch Marzel, too, said that today's attack was a response to talk of releasing terrorist murderers such as Marwan Barghouti, as well as 1,300 other imprisoned terrorists, in exchange for Gilad Shalit.

Weekend Terrorism
An Arab-fired Kassam rocket slammed into a factory in the industrial section of Sderot Saturday afternoon. No injuries were reported in the attack, but the factory’s warehouse was damaged in the rocket strike.

On Friday, the IDF fired two missiles at a terrorist cell in northern Gaza, killing one terrorist and wounding two others. The terror group had been planting explosives along the route of the border fence between Gaza and Israel. The helicopter strike was the first since Israel declared a ceasefire with the Palestinian Authority in November. While Israel has refrained from operating in Gaza during the period, terrorists from the region have pounded Israeli towns with Kassam rockets.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has repeated a previous media ploy of stating that kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit will be freed soon while at the same time sending Israel another list of prisoners and terrorists it demands in return - including arch-murderer Marwan Barghouti.

Government sources responded to the latest announcement cautiously, stating that there "has been some progress" but warning that concluding a deal may be a long time away.

Neither the PA nor Israel discussed which names are on the latest list, but the Hebrew news site NFC reported Saturday night that it includes arch-terrorist Marwan Barghouti, serving multiple life terms for murder, and Ahmed Sadat, who killed former Tourism Minister Rehavam Ze'evi in 2001.

The possibility of the release of such murderers has outraged many in Israel; even Voice of Israel legal-affairs commentator Moshe Negbi, whose views generally jibe with Israel's left-wing, hinted that Acting President Dalia Itzik or Attorney-General Menachem Mazuz could thwart the move by refusing to pardon them.  Negbi noted that the late Ezer Weizman, when he served as President, "stood on his hind legs and refused to pardon terrorists when he thought it inappropriate."

The PA often has painted an optimistic outlook for the release of Shalit, kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in a cross-border raid that also killed two other soldiers last June 25.  Shalit's father Noam, also interviewed by France 24, commented that all the previous statements about an imminent deal have proven to be false. Responding to the latest PA promises, he told Army Radio Saturday night, "It's just more talk."

Throughout all prisoner negotiations for the release of Shalit, Israel has refused to break its policy of not releasing terrorists "with blood on their hands," meaning those who have been involved in murdering Israelis.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas started the latest media manipulation Friday with a statement to France 24 that Shalit "will be freed soon." PA Information Minister Mustafa Barghouti followed him on Saturday by declaring that Egyptian intermediaries sent Israel a list of the prisoners and terrorists who must be released in order to secure the freedom of Shalit. Barghouti insisted he did not know how many names were on the list and added, "The ball is in Israel's court." 

However, Abbas added, that the issue of Shalit is separate from the demands from Israel on releasing prisoners and terrorists. "One thing does not depend on the other," Abbas insisted, despite Barghouti's contrary statement.

Foreign and Israeli media on Friday headlined a report from an Arab newspaper in Nazareth that Egyptian officials mediated so that Shalit could receive eyeglasses that his parents several times have tried to send him. The soldiers' captors, who still have not been identified, have not confirmed or denied that Shalit received his glasses, but Red Cross officials said that the terrorists agreed to accept the spectacles.

International law requires that kidnapped victims be allowed visits by the Red Cross, which usually acts as a mediator to deliver letters from family and to check their condition. However, the terrorists holding Shalit have not been identified nor has there been any been any sign of his fate or condition.

In response to a question as to when Israel could receive proof that Shalit is alive and in good condition, Hamas spokesman Razi Hamad said, "I hope and believe they are in good condition."  Interviewer Chaim Zisovitch of Voice of Israel did not follow up the question.

Similarly, Hizbullah terrorists who kidnapped IDF soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev last July have not divulged any information despite Israel's having allowed the Red Cross to visit three Hizbullah terrorists who were captured during the war last summer.

A Hizbullah official said Friday that Goldwasser and Regev are receiving "humane treatment," indicating that the soldiers still are alive. Initial reports after their abduction described them as having been seriously wounded.

However, Israeli officials as well as the wife of Goldwasser have doubted the reliability of the report in the Nazareth newspaper by Mahmoud Komati, the deputy leader of Hizbullah political bureau. The terrorist organization's Al Manar television station denied the report.

Goldwasser's wife Karnit said, "This is not a turning point, this is not a sign of life... A sign of life is when someone sees them, and a Red Cross representative must see them."

The Palestinian Authority (PA) faces a possible influx of cash flow following a New York State Supreme Court ruling that unfreezes - subject to appeal - $30 million. The PA has also been pledged $59 million from the Bush administration.

Assets of the Palestine Monetary Authority (PMA) had been frozen following a case brought to the court in 2005, nine years after the 1996 terror shootings of Yaron and Efrat Ungar. Yaron, born in Brooklyn, New York, was a rabbinical student studying in Israel when he and his wife were brutally murdered. Their two orphans, babies at the time, have been brought up by Efrat's parents.

The Ungar family was awarded $30 million from the Palestinian Authority, which was found responsible for the attack by failing to meet its obligations under the Oslo Accords to prevent terror.  The assets belonging to the PMA were then frozen, until such time as it could be ascertained whether or not the PMA's money should be used to pay PA debts. 

Over the weekend, the Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled that the bank is, in fact, not connected to the political entity of the PA and cannot be held culpable for the PA’s actions. The money was thus ruled unfrozen - and will not be used to pay the Ungars.

This is not the last word, however.  Attorney Nitzana Darshan-Leitner explained to Arutz-7 that contrary to reports, the decisions is not final and that the PMA's monies are still frozen "until after we have a chance to appeal.  This is a process that could take a year and a half or more."

The Court's ruling, as of now, is that the PMA "is a separate entity from the Palestinian Authority and the money in its name... should be released." Both the PA and the PMA were created under the terms of the accords in 1994.

In addition to the unfreezing of assets, the ruling allows the PMA to operate in the United States and to make transactions worldwide in American dollars. "The PMA will now proceed to re-engage in its full range of statutory responsibilities of safeguarding monetary and financial stability and promoting economic growth," PMA Governer George Abed stated.

Bush Administration Pledges Funds to Terrorists
Two weeks ago, the Bush Administration pledged $59 million to the Fatah faction, under the leadership of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

A majority of the proposed funds will be utilized for military equipment and training, with Abbas’ Force 17 presidential guard units being the main beneficiary of the cash.

Recently, the American Congress blocked a larger pledge of $86 million to the PA by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice because of evidence that the funds may wind up reaching the hands of terrorists.

Aaron Klein of WorldNetDaily reported that “dozens of Hamas and Islamic Jihad members were discovered the past four weeks serving in Fatah posts.”

Rice recently admitted she cannot guarantee that funds transferred to Fatah would not reach "the wrong hands."

Following the admission, Rice stated during a hearing before the House of Representatives Appropriations subcommittee that she would ask Congress for less money.

"I will request less money,” Rice stated, “precisely because some of the money that I would have requested I did not think I could fully account for."

European Union to Resume Funding PA
PA foreign minister Ziad Abu Amar expressed optimism Saturday that European aid to the PA could be renewed in the near future.

The European Union, along with the U.S., halted funding for the PA government last year after Hamas won a sweeping parliamentary majority during legislative elections.

However, since the recent formation of a joint, national unity government between Fatah and Hamas, PA officials expect that several countries will begin sending money to the Authority as soon as next month.

Abbas is set to travel to several European capitals later in April to seek funding for the entity. PA sources said that they had received unofficial promises from several European leaders that the funding would be renewed if kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is released.

In light of recent charges of sexual harassment by officers of female soldiers, IDF officers are taking no chances. Private discussions are now off-limits, as are compliments on physical appearance and the like.

Though Col. P. was recently acquitted of verbal sexual harassment of a female soldier under his command, his fellow officers feel that steps must be taken to prevent miffed soldiers from making similar false accusations against them in the future. Among the new regulations they are informally adopting are: no more private closed-door meetings with female soldiers, and no compliments on haircuts or physical appearance.

One field commander told the Maariv NRG news website that he no longer takes female soldiers into his car when he leaves the base. He and others make sure not to hold private meetings with junior female soldiers - especially when the topic of discussion is a reprimand or the like, which might prompt feelings of vengeance.

Some officers feel that some female soldiers use the tool of harassment accusations when reprimanded, refused leave, and the like. "It has reached the point where we can no longer compliment a junior female officer or soldier on her appearance," one officer said.

Another senior officer said he has stopped asking about his female soldiers' personal lives: "Any question relating to her boyfriend or the like is liable to be misinterpreted," he says. "As an officer, I am supposed to take interest in my soldiers' personal lives, and it can even be harmful if I do not - but I refuse to take such a chance."

Increasing numbers of officers who have personal secretaries have begun requesting that they not be assigned female soldiers, but rather that their personal aides be males.

The case of Col. P. is particularly irksome, the officers feel, because "it was clear from the start that he was not guilty. Yet he lost six months of his life fighting it, as well as having his name dragged through the mud of sexual harassment charges."

It is felt that the new "regulations" will also help prevent those cases where charges of harassment are justified. An IDF Lieutenant was convicted last month, for instance, of harassing 12 female soldiers; in accordance with an agreement reached between the sides, he was demoted to the rank of private, must perform public service works in a hospital, and must compensate one of the soldiers financially.

"Nobody knows what's inside these trucks," Jumblatt told Al-Jazeera
A senior Lebanese politician has said that Lebanese security agents are helping Hizbullah smuggle weapons across the country's border with Syria. Walid Jumblatt, longtime leader of Lebanon's Druze community and a member of the ruling parliamentary bloc, said some Lebanese agents are allowing trucks to cross the border without being searched.

"Nobody knows what's inside these trucks," Jumblatt told Al-Jazeera in an interview broadcast on Saturday. He also said that the Lebanese army has a policy of not entering Hizbullah training camps along the Syrian-Lebanese boundary to search for weapons.

Calling Hizbullah "a state within a state," Jumblatt said the terrorist organization had security units running in parallel with those of Lebanon's government. "There is a Hizbullah army alongside the Lebanese army," he said. "There is Hizbullah intelligence alongside Lebanese [army] intelligence and there are Lebanese territories that the army is prohibited from entering… The Lebanese army should have... entered the areas between Lebanon and Syria that are off-limits."

Mahmoud Komati, the deputy leader of Hizbullah's political bureau, said Jumblatt's accusations are "part of the conspiracy against the resistance." Hizbullah, which leads the political opposition in Lebanon, is locked in a bitter power struggle with the government of Fuad Siniora.

Jumblatt's comments come after France circulated a draft United Nations Security Council statement last week, expressing "serious concern" at reports of illegal arms transfers across the Lebanon-Syria border.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned during a visit to Lebanon last Saturday that arms smuggling from Syria could threaten the ceasefire in Lebanon. He urged full compliance with U.N. resolution 1701 that ended the 34-day Israeli-Hizbullah war.

"There are intelligence reports that arms are smuggled. I am concerned by that kind of arms smuggling, which will destabilize the situation in Lebanon," he said. Lebanese daily An-Nahar reported that Ban told Lebanese security chiefs that Israel had provided him with "evidence and pictures" of trucks crossing from Syria to Lebanon and unloading weapons.

Ban expressed the need for "an enhanced monitoring capacity of the Lebanese armed forces to ensure that there will be no such smuggling activity," and later added that "full compliance of 1701 is crucially important in maintaining peace and security there."

In the French draft, the Security Council would express "its serious concern at mounting reports of illegal movements of arms across the Lebanese-Syrian border in violation of resolution 1701." When the council receives recommendations from the secretary-general, the draft says it will "take further concrete steps to achieve the goals" of banning the sale or transfer of arms or technical assistance to any entity or individual not authorized by the Lebanese government.

The council would also reiterate "its deep concern at the continuing Israeli violations of Lebanese air space."