BARAK DEFERS EVACUATION OF HEBRON HOUSE FOLLOWING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 002592

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STATE FOR NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR
GOLDBERGER/SHAMPAINE/ROSENSTOCK/PECCIA; NSC FOR
ABRAMS/SINGH/PASCUAL; JCS FOR GENERAL SELVA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/21/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL IS KPAL KWBG
SUBJECT: BARAK DEFERS EVACUATION OF HEBRON HOUSE FOLLOWING
HIGH COURT RULING.

Classified By: DCM LUIS G. MORENO FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) and (D)


1. (SBU) Summary: Minister of Defense (MOD) Barak on November
20 balked at forcibly removing nine settler families from a
house in Hebron after the High Court of Justice ordered their
evacuation, and clashes erupted between the settlers and
Israeli forces. Ministry of Defense officials in recent days
have said that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would avoid using
force to remove the settlers, and government legal aides
announced that the MOD is seeking to extend the court-ordered
thirty day evacuation period, suggesting that Barak is trying
to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the dispute. Despite
ongoing attempts to reach a peaceful resolution, a projected
influx of as many as 20,000 Jewish pilgrims to Hebron in the
coming days could lead to additional demonstrations and a
spike in violence. End Summary.

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IDF HOLDS OFF ON HOUSE EVACUATION
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2. (SBU) Barak as of November 20 publicly delayed ordering
IDF forces to remove settlers from a house in Hebron under
disputed ownership, and senior defense officials on the same
day publicly said that the IDF has 30 days from the court's
ruling to carry out the evacuation, indicating that an
evacuation may be delayed for weeks. Barak's deferral comes
after the High Court of Justice on November 16 denied a
petition from settlers living in the house to rescind a
previous evacuation notice and ordered them to leave the
house within 3 days, according to Israeli press reports.
(Note: the original dispute over the house began last year
when the settlers took possession without paying the
Palestinian owner in full. The High Court last year ruled in
favor of the Palestinian man and ordered the settlers to
leave the house, which led to the High Court's subsequent
ruling on November 16. End Note).


3. (SBU) When IDF forces arrived at the Hebron house on
November 20, following the expiration of the three-day
deadline, settler youths stoned the soldiers and vandalized
nearby Palestinian property in protest. One soldier was
injured when a settler threw turpentine in his face and the
IDF forces eventually left without evacuating the house.
(Comment: it is not clear if the soldiers had been ordered to
remove the settlers before arriving at the Hebron house on
November 20. End Comment).


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BARAK SEEKING PEACEFUL RESOLUTION
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4. (SBU) Barak is trying to buy more time to continue
negotiations, hoping that there is still a chance to resolve
the dispute peacefully. He traditionally has favored
negotiations with settlers over conflict, and on November 20
met with security officials to discuss how to evacuate the
house without violence, according to an Israeli press report
(comment: Barak currently is also negotiating with settlers
from the Migron outpost to voluntarily relocate to the
settlement of Adam, which is closer to the major settlement
blocs. End Comment). Barak's legal aides on November 19
also said that Israeli authorities have more than 30 days to
carry out the evacuation because this deadline only applies
to "recently discovered squatters" and not the residents of
the Hebron house, who have occupied the house for more than a
year, according to an Israeli press report. While the GOI
can petition the court to extend the deadline, it can neither
force the court to issue an extension, nor can it delay the
eviction indefinitely. A spokesman from the Defense
Minister's Bureau on November 20 publicly said that defense
officials are continuing to negotiate with settler leaders,
although IDF officials on November 16 publicly said that the
settlers are unlikely to leave the house peacefully.

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HEBRON HOUSE A POLITICAL LIGHTNING ROD
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5. (SBU) Barak's decision not to immediately evacuate the
house in Hebron has prompted other Israeli politicians to
take sides in an attempt to score political points. Yair
Hirschfeld and Boaz Karni of the Economic Cooperation
Foundation told Embassy Officials that Barak eventually will
forcibly evacuate the Hebron house, if he is unable to first
reach an agreement with the settlers, but that he is waiting

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until the general elections--scheduled for February
2009--draw closer to garner political capital from the
decision. Lawmakers from the left-leaning Meretz party on
November 20 publicly criticized Barak for not upholding the
High Court's ruling, and called on him to evacuate the house.
Meanwhile, Minister of Knesset Nissim Ze'ev of the SHAS
party on November 18 defended the settler's resistance by
moving into the disputed house and vowing to stand with them
against any attempted IDF evacuation, according to an Israeli
press report.

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POTENTIAL FOR FURTHER VIOLENCE
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6. (SBU) The house in Hebron appears likely to become a
flashpoint for confrontation as upwards of 20,000 Jewish
pilgrims are projected to travel to Hebron in the coming days
to commemorate the death of the Matriarch Sarah. Settler
opposition to an evacuation in recent days has taken on
symbolic significance for many of these pilgrims, according
to Israeli press reports, because the corresponding Torah
portion commemorating Sarah's death recounts the story of
Abraham purchasing a cave near Hebron for Sarah's burial.
The influx of pilgrims probably will lead to larger
demonstrations, which could spark further violence against
Israeli authorities and nearby Palestinian communities.

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COMMENT
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7 (C) Barak's decision to delay this evacuation potentially
leaves him open to criticism from pro-Palestinian groups
that, in the past, have claimed that Israel abides by a
double standard when evacuating Palestinians from their homes
vice Israelis. Critics are likely to cite the eviction of a
Palestinian family in September 2008 from their home in East
Jerusalem, after Israeli courts ruled that the land belonged
to a Jewish family.

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