One may be pro or anti the settlement movement, the ongoing effort to rebuild Biblical portions of Eretz Yisrael, but if one wishes to be objective, one cannot help but to acknowledge the absurdity of the present and former governments of Israel.

Whether the former Gush Katif, Migron today or the Beit HaMachpela in Hebron, the right hand of the government does not know [or care] what the left hand is doing.

On Tuesday, 10 Nissan 5772, Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz visited the Machpelah Building hours after residents received an eviction order from the Civil Administration, an order approved by another cabinet minister, Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

Katz came in an act of solidarity with the residents and Hebron community, and insists that a single minister cannot make such a decision, but this is a decision that requires a cabinet vote. This however does not seem to weigh heavy in Ehud Barak’s decision-making process and his left-wing agenda.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has since turned to his defense minister and asked for a delay in ousting the resident, to permit the Hebron community to prove in court that the house was legally purchased as claimed.

In essence, a legal purchase is not the case since in Migron, where the community has the paperwork to prove its claim, the High Court of Justice will not even look at the documents, preferring to take the word of the Arab petitioner challenging the sale. That community’s fate was sealed with an eviction order from the nation’s highest court.

The current administration continues to portray itself as right-wing when the prime minister was among the members of the cabinet that approved the 2005 Disengagement Plan. Mr. Netanyahu only resigned after the Disengagement plan was approved, so his resignation was only a symbolic act.

In this administration, Migron has been declared illegal, the Ulpana neighborhood in Beit El is due to be ousted in May, and now, the Hebron community faces yet another eviction.

The leaders of the Hebron community insist the eviction order from Barak is 100% political and it is tainted with the senior minister’s personal political philosophy. They insist the structure in question was purchased legally and there is no legal basis to oust them from their new home.

The Civil Administration’s eviction order actually does not challenge the legality of the sale, but simply states they must leave because the Jewish presence represents a threat to public peace and tranquility.

During his visit, Katz affixed a mezuzah in the new structure.

13:00: After the intervention of the prime minister, Defense Minister Barak has agreed to give “the settlers” until 15:00 today to prove ownership of the building or be ousted. Officials in Barak’s office made a point of telling the media that the eviction order has not been canceled, just delayed due to administrative issues.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)