|
Israelis evicted after seizing Hebron houses
December 25, 1996
Web posted at: 11:00 a.m. EST (1600 GMT)HEBRON, West Bank (CNN) -- Israeli troops scuffled with Jewish settlers on rooftops and in the streets of Hebron on Wednesday during protests against the expected handover of most of the West Bank town to Palestinian rule.
Three gasoline bombs were thrown at Israeli soldiers and settlers, but caused no injuries or damage, Israeli military sources said. Five Palestinians were arrested.
Soldiers and police evicted about 20 Jews in disturbances that began with the settlers' pre-dawn takeover of four vacant houses in an Arab neighborhood.
Protests spread to the rooftops and the streets, where settlers hurled eggs, apples and stones at soldiers, witnesses said.
Hebron talks continue
Hebron's Jews are angry that a U.S.-brokered Israeli-PLO summit made progress Tuesday towards a long-overdue Israeli transfer to the Palestinian Authority of 80 percent of the volatile town, which is holy to both Muslims and Jews.
The Arab neighborhood where Wednesday's clashes took place is in the 20 percent of Hebron due to remain under Israeli occupation.
The settlers said two of the houses were Jewish-owned. They said they feared the other buildings would be used to house Palestinian guerrillas.
Palestinians have been restoring dozens of abandoned houses near Hebron's Jewish enclaves with the aim of reoccupying them.
The 400 settlers in the heart of the town of more than 100,000 Arabs fear Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu will risk their security if he signs the deal within a week, as both sides predict.
Negotiating teams resumed talks in Jerusalem on Wednesday joined by U.S. special Middle East envoy Dennis Ross.
Correspondent Jerrold Kessel and Reuters contributed to this report.
Related stories:
- Netanyahu joins Israeli-PLO talks; Hebron deal may be near - December 23, 1996
- Netanyahu joins Israeli-PLO talks; Hebron deal may be near - December 23, 1996
- U.S. mediator tries to break Mideast deadlock - December 21, 1996
- As Hebron talks languish, delay may benefit Arafat - December 18,1996
- Clinton pressing for West Bank agreement - December 16,1996
- Amid tensions, Arafat telephones Netanyahu - December 15,1996
Related sites:
Note: Pages will open in a new browser windowExternal sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.
Tell us what you think!
You said it...
© 1996 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.