Sheikh Mohammed All Jaabari, Mayor of Hebron, has lodged a formal protest with the West Bank Military Governor over the requisition of 80 acres of land in the Hebron area last week, ostensibly for security reasons. The Arab leader claimed that the land was taken over in order to expand the Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba on the outskirts of Hebron. Official Israeli sources said that the land was part of the 750 acres set aside two years ago as a “closed zone” in which the new Jewish settlement would be built while Arab farmers continued to use the balance of the land. The officials said the owners of the land, including relatives of the Mayor, were adequately compensated. According to sources in the Military Governor’s office, only 1.5 acres were actually taken over and the rest can be used in part by the owners. So far 250 dwelling units have been completed at Kiryat Arba and 40 Jewish families have moved in.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
