Israelis enter new home in Hebron, purchased from Arabs

“We have returned to our lands, we will return and buy more houses and more land to Judaize the area, we are not afraid to say it,” said Eliyahu Liebman, head of the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Council.

By Aryeh Savir, TPS

A group of Israelis entered a new home complex in the city of Hebron on Thursday, the latest real-estate purchase from local Arabs.

The building, called Beit HaHerut (the House of Liberty), is situated close to the Tomb of the Patriarchs on the main road connecting the holy site to the Avraham Avinu neighborhood. It has been built in recent years and has been vacated for a long period of time.

The building is reportedly just outside the security limits of the small Israeli zone in Hebron, and the residents have placed metal steps to pass the blockade that the IDF placed there years ago.

IDF soldiers are securing the new residents.

Peace Now organization, which is opposed to Jews’ presence in Hebron, stated that “this settlement should be evicted before it is established. It doesn’t matter if they bought the house or not, this is an illegal settlement for all intents and purposes.”

However, Eliyahu Liebman, head of the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Council, stated that with “another house, another meter and another room, Kiryat Arba-Hebron is expanding today with another house purchased legally, Jewish families lived in this house as Jews lived in this area in the past.”

“We have returned to our lands, we will return and buy more houses and more land to Judaize the area, we are not afraid to say it,” he declared.

He thanked and congratulated “all those involved in the holy work, especially the Harchivi Mekom Ohalech association which purchased the house and is working around the clock to return more and more homes to the Jews.”

Harchivi organization has worked in the past decade to purchase homes from Arabs in Hebron.

The area in Hebron in which Jews can live is very limited. The Hebron Protocol of 1997 divided the city into two sectors – H1, controlled by the Palestinian Authority (PA), and H2, approximately 20% of the city, administered by Israel. The Jewish community resides within the Israeli-controlled part of the city.

Israeli organizations have previously purchased buildings in Hebron, including Beit Hatkuma (House of Revival) and Beit HaShalom (House of Peace), often situated at strategic locations.

Cave of the PatriarchsHebronHebron Jewish communityKiryat ArbaPalestinian AuthorityPeace NowTomb of the Patriarchs