Cabinet Approves Decision to Build Permanent Housing for 250 Jewish Families in Hebron

A Cabinet decision to build permanent housing for 250 Jewish families in the West Bank town of Hebron was approved by a large majority in the Knesset yesterday. The decision was announced by Deputy Premier Yigal Allon. He did not say whether the project was part of a larger plan to establish a Jewish suburb of Hebron, reportedly under consideration by the Cabinet. Hebron has been a touchy problem ever since a group of religious Jews squatted there two years ago and announced their intention of remaining. They have been living inside the military government compound but demand regular housing. Hebron has been an all-Arab town since 1936 and no permission for Jewish settlement was granted by the military government after it was captured in the June, 1967 Six-Day War.

But the Knesset demonstrated overwhelming support for Jewish settlers yesterday. When the matter came to a vote, only the two Communist factions and Haolam Hazeh opposed it. Mapam. which disapproves of Israeli “faits accomplis” in the occupied territories, abstained as did the State List headed by former Premier David Ben Gurion. The latter did so because it thinks Jewish settlement should proceed at a faster pace. Police and military authorities stifled a demonstration Tuesday in Hebron by leftists who sought to close the Jewish settlers’ restaurant for half an hour in protest against any settlement In the territory as detrimental to peace. The military governor of Hebron has imposed a 9 p.m.-4 a.m. curfew until further notice, according to reports received here. A military government spokesman said the measure was designed to assist in general security control and was not connected with a particular crime.