SETTLERS BRACE FOR BATTLE OVER DISPUTED HEBRON

C O N F I D E N T I A L JERUSALEM 002091

SIPDIS

NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE. NSC FOR ABRAMS/RAMCHAND/PASCUAL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/20/2018
TAGS: KWBG PHUM ASEC IS PBTS PTER
SUBJECT: SETTLERS BRACE FOR BATTLE OVER DISPUTED HEBRON
COMPOUND

REF: JERUSALEM 1260

Classified By: Consul General Jake Walles, per reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary. The Israeli High Court of Justice (HCJ) on
November 16 ordered the settlers occupying the Rajabi
compound (referred to by settlers as "Beit Hashalom") in
Hebron to evacuate voluntarily within three days while a
district court determines ownership. Press report that the
IDF plans to enforce the order within thirty days. Some one
thousand settlers held an emergency meeting on November 19 in
Kiryat Arba to prepare to resist -- including by force -- any
IDF attempt to evacuate the building. Press report that
protesting settlers clashed with Israeli security forces on
the night of November 19; one soldier was injured, a mosque
and several Palestinian gravestones were desecrated. End
summary.

Settlers Dispute HCJ Decision
--------------


2. (C) On November 16, the HCJ ordered settlers to leave
the disputed Rajabi compound (referred to by settlers as
"Beit Hashalom") between Kiryat Arba and central Hebron
within three days while the district court determines
ownership. Some 20 families (100 settlers) have been living
in the unfinished, 40,000 square foot compound since March

2007. Press report that the IDF intends to implement the
order within thirty days. Settlers and activists predicted
to Poloffs that the evacuation would not occur within the
next week due to the November 22 reading of "Chayei Sarah,"
the Torah portion that describes how the Patriarch Abraham
purchased a tomb for his wife Sarah. The annual reading of
this Torah portion usually attracts some 20,000 overnight
visitors to Hebron.


3. (C) Kiryat Arba settler Elyakim Haeztni told Poloffs on
November 19 that his son Nadav Haeztni, who represents the
settlers, had presented overwhelming evidence to the district
court "proving" that Palestinian Faez Rajabi had received
payment for the property. Haeztni said the court believed
Rajabi's claim that he later rejected the sale and returned
the money, and dismissed an audio tape of a conversation in
which Rajabi purportedly admits to selling the property.
Hebron settlers' spokesman David Wilder told POLOFF November
19 that the court had "ignored the information and that the
Israeli justice system is politically motivated." Elyakim
Haetzni told Poloffs that the decision was a "great
miscarriage of justice," and settlers are a "persecuted
minority" in Israel, against whom "character assassination"
has been waged.

"If you are Beaten, Beat Back";
Clashes as Tension Rises
--------------


4. (C) Wilder told POLOFF November 19 that settlers are
barricading themselves in the compound to protect its
residents and prevent implementation of the HCJ decision. On
November 19, Poloffs saw hundreds of signs across the
southern West Bank urged settlers to attend an emergency
meeting in Kiryat Arba. According to Wilder and activist
group Women in Green, some one thousand people attended a
meeting in Kiryat Arba's gymnasium to prepare to resist the
evacuation. Haetzni, who also attended the meeting, said
settler rabbis told the crowd, "if you are beaten during the
evacuation, beat back." Haetzni, who helped found the Hebron
settlement, told Poloffs that he had "never seen such anger"
from the settlers or their rabbis. Wilder said the meeting
included practical presentations that advised settlers to
bring knee pads, helmets, gloves, and gas masks to resist
when Israeli security forces enforce the eviction.


5. (C) Yesha Council Chairman Dani Dayan told POLOFF
November 19 that the situation is "very bad," involving "very
serious confrontations," and that, "we have to find a way to
solve it peacefully." Dayan said even moderate settlers feel
betrayed by the HCJ decision, because they believe the house
was legally purchased.


6. (U) Press reported on November 20 that settlers clashed
November 19 with Israeli security forces near the disputed
compound; one soldier was injured when a settler threw
turpentine at him. Offensive graffiti was sprayed on a
Hebron mosque and on several Palestinian gravestones.

WALLES