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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Settlers to Barak: Don't give PA security control of Hebron |
| 2008-10-08 |
| Settler leaders on Tuesday urged Defense Minister Ehud Barak not to transfer the security control of the West Bank town of Hebron to the Palestinian Authority. The leaders, from Hebron and the nearby settlements of Kiryat Arba and Gush Etzion, made this plea in a letter they sent in the wake of recent reports about the potential transfer of security control over the town. In the letter, rabbis expressed shock and outrage about the proposal, which they say would transfer control to what they call "the Fatah and Tanzim terrorists known as the Palestinian Authority." They added, "Similar steps in the past have always lead to terrible bloodshed." The letter detailed a number of terror attacks in which Jews were murdered by Palestinians in the area, including the killing of 10-month-old Shalhevet Pas and 12 Israel Defense Forces Soldiers. The settler leaders claim their deaths were caused by a previous attempt to transfer security control to the Palestinian Authority in 2002. "A wave of terror washed over all of Israel, and terrorists from Hebron reached Haifa," the letter read. "All of this was a result of IDF forces withdrawing from the city and its transfer to the Palestinian Authority." It went on to say that, "The transfer of security in Hebron to the terrorists of the PA will endanger the lives of thousands or residents in our area, and the lives of all citizens of Israel. All participants in this step are wanton and irresponsible and will not be able to say 'our hands did not spill this blood.'" Tension often runs high in Hebron, home to some 180,000 Palestinians and around 650 settlers. The city is holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians as it holds the Tomb of the Patriarchs, believed to be the burial place of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob and Leah. |
| Posted by:Fred |