The army has lifted a two week-old order that closed all buildings in central Hebron, including the bus terminal. The order was imposed after a grenade was thrown at a building in downtown Hebron that the Israeli authorities had turned over to Jewish settlers.
Mayor Mustapha Abdul Natsche welcomed the end of the restriction. But Gush Emunim zealots, led by Rabbi Moshe Levinger, continued to stage a sitedown strike outside the civil administration headquarters demanding the ouster of Mayor Natsche who they allege is a Palestine Liberation Organization “agent.”
The building that was the grenade target two weeks ago, known as the Romano House, belonged to Jews who fled Hebron during the Arab riots 54 years ago. It served as an elementary school for Arab girls until two years ago when it was seized by the Israeli authorities and handed over to Jews from Kiryat Arba, the Orthodox township adjacent to Hebron. The seizure was in retaliation for an attempt on the life of a Kiryat Arba resident.
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