The curfew imposed on Hebron following the murder of yeshiva student Yehoshua Sloma there last Thursday, was lifted for eight hours today to allow the residents to do their weekend shopping. It was suspended from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. instead of for only 90 minutes at midday as has been the case for the past week.
But the authorities re-imposed the curfew, Mayor Fahed Kawasme complained bitterly that the entire population was being made to suffer for a crime committed apparently by one man. He is understood to have been informed by the Military Governor that the curfew will remain in force at least until next Monday. The Israeli authorities insist that it is not collective punishment but a measure needed to facilitate the investigation of the murder and to prevent clashes between local Arabs and Jewish militants from neighboring Kiryat Arba.
Kawasme reacted angrily to statements by Defense Minister Ezer Weizman in the Knesset yesterday supporting Jewish re-settlement of Hebron. The mayors of the nearby towns of Bethlehem, Beit Sahur and Halhoul met with Kawasme today to express their solidarity with the people of Hebron. A group of Hebron residents announced that they will appeal to the Supreme Court Monday for the return of the land seized for the building of Kiryat Arba shortly after the Six-Day War.
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.
