JERUSALEM (JTA) — An Israeli court ordered the eviction of six Jewish families from a Palestinian-owned home in Hebron.
The Jerusalem District Court ordered the eviction of the home near an enclave of Jewish homes in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood. The Jewish families, who have lived there since 2005, must evacuate by May 15. They claim the Jewish-owned Tal Lebniya construction company purchased the property from its Palestinian owner.
The court found that the property is owned by Zachariah Bakri, who left the home deserted in 2001 after the Israeli military restricted the movement of Palestinians in the area, Haaretz reported. Bakri has been fighting since 2009 to reassert his ownership rights.
Sale documents presented to the court by the company, which are said to be signed by other Bakri family members and the mayor of Hebron, are forgeries, the court ruled.
The ruling comes less than a month after Jewish settlers were evicted from a home near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron that they said was purchased legally from its owner. The eviction order issued by the Israeli military’s Civil Administration said the settlers’ presence in the home violated public order. The Civil Administration also said that the residents did not request or receive the required purchase permit.
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