Cabinet Again Defers Decision on Jewish Presence in Hebron

The Cabinet discussed the Hebron issue yesterday for the second successive week and again deferred a decision as to whether Jews should be allowed to settle in that West Bank Arab town. Premier Menachem Begin said a decision would be adopted when the Cabinet convenes next Sunday.

At yesterday’s session, Begin read the letter he received from Secretary of State Cyrus Vance last week urging the Israeli government to refrain from settling Jews in Hebron. He said his response to Vance cited the Cabinet’s declaration of Feb. 3 which supported in principle the right of Jews to live in Hebron but set no time for implementing that right.

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.S. Ephraim Evron briefed the ministers on current U.S. -Israeli relations and noted in particular the negative reaction in Washington to the Cabinet’s position on Hebron. Evron reportedly criticized “Israelis who come to the U.S. on official missions and speak against the government’s settlement policy,” but it was not clear to whom he may have been referring. Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon wanted to know whether Israel’s representatives abroad were presenting the government’s views on this subject “with confidence or apologetically.”

ARAB PROTEST CALLED OFF

Begin expressed the view that the difficulties that arise from time to time between Israel and the U.S. were not all related to the settlements issue but also stemmed from difficulties encountered in the autonomy talks and the Jerusalem problem.

While the Cabinet continued its inconclusive deliberations over Hebron, Arab political leaders from the West Bank and Gaza Strip were organizing a massive protest rally to be held at the Al Aksa Mosque in Jerusalem tomorrow. It was called off, however, after Israeli military authorities announced that they would bar the West Bank mayors and other political figures from entering Jerusalem.

At the same time, the Gush Emunim militants in Kiryat Arba went ahead with plans to install Jewish families in Hebron immediately, regardless of what the government decides. It was unclear what measures if any would be taken to prevent the Gush Emunim settlers from taking over selected buildings in Hebron. According to one report, physical means might be used if the Cabinet decides against any settlements at this time. But the Kiryat Arba militants may make their move before the Cabinet convenes next Sunday. Thirty families from the Orthodox township were said to be poised to move into Hebron this week. If they do so without official sanction, another major confrontation appears to be inevitable between the government and the Gush Emunim.

LEGAL OBSTACLES TO SETTLEMENT BID

Apart from the political problems, new legal obstacles to the settlement bid surfaced over the weekend. One of the two house targeted by the Kiryat Arba settlers for immediate occupancy belonged more than 50 years ago to the family of Haham Tsarfati. His heirs, the Bierman family in Jerusalem, sent a telegram to Begin declaring that they do not want Jews moving into the house because they felt this would not serve the interests of the peace process. Amnon Bierman said on a television interview last night that he would file suit for trespassing if Jewish families occupied the property.

Three other houses on the Kiryat Arba list were ruled out by Attorney General Yitzhak Zamin last week because they are protected by tenancy leases. One serves as an Arab girls’ school and another is leased to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Arab refugees (UNRWA). The Kiryat Arba residents have drawn up plans that ignore the Attorney General’s opinion. They call for the immediate settlement of several dozen Jewish families in Hebron to be followed by more than 100 other Jewish families. An architect’s plan for a revived” Jewish quarter” in Hebron has been submitted to Sharon who is chairman of the Ministerial Settlement Committee and the most vociferous supporter of Gush Egiunim demands in the government.