{"id":57053,"date":"2026-02-19T23:56:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/?p=57053"},"modified":"2026-02-19T23:56:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T20:56:18","slug":"jabel-jales-settlement-hebron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peacenow.org.il\/en\/jabel-jales-settlement-hebron","title":{"rendered":"Settlers Establish New Settlement in Palestinian Neighborhood in Hebron"},"content":{"rendered":"

Settlers entered several homes<\/a> in Hebron today and established a new settlement in them. The settlers\u2019 association \u201cHarchivi Mekom Ohalech\u201d claims that it purchased<\/a> five houses from Palestinians in the Jabal Jalles neighborhood of Hebron, about 1,300 meters east of the Cave of the Patriarchs \/ the Ibrahimi Mosque. These are five houses in a densely populated Palestinian neighborhood that could accommodate dozens of families and hundreds of settlers. It should be noted that according to Palestinian reports, last night the IDF carried out a large-scale arrest operation<\/a> in the neighborhood and detained dozens of Palestinian men, increasing suspicion that the army was aware of the settlers\u2019 intention to enter the homes and establish a new settlement in Hebron.<\/p>\n

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Peace Now: \u201cWe are seeing here an alarming example of the consequences of the government\u2019s new policy regarding land purchases in the West Bank. A handful of real estate\u2013hungry settlers will in the future be able to determine many more such facts on the ground, with far-reaching political and security implications. This is what annexation looks like!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Land purchases in the occupied territories have always been a dubious field involving forgery and fraud<\/a>. Until the government\u2019s annexation overhaul<\/a> in the occupied territories\u2014when it removed authority from the army and transferred it to an official appointed by Minister Smotrich\u2014a meticulous review of purchase claim documents was conducted, including examination in a forensic laboratory, before a transaction permit was granted to settlers. Immediately upon the appointment of Hillel Roth as the \u201ccivil deputy\u201d to the head of the Civil Administration, an easing of procedures<\/a> for obtaining such a transaction permit was felt. In a cabinet decision<\/a> about two weeks ago, the cabinet decided, among other things, to cancel the requirement for a transaction permit, and alongside additional easements in the acquisition process, effectively gave settlers a free hand to purchase land in the West Bank and create facts on the ground.<\/p>\n

In the current case of the settlers\u2019 claimed purchase in the Jabal Jalles neighborhood, Peace Now has no information as to whether a transaction permit was granted or not. In the past, there were cases in which settlers entered homes even without receiving a transaction permit, and they almost always did so before the registration process<\/a> itself, before the Palestinian owners could express opposition<\/a> to the purchase.<\/p>\n