Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said Thursday that the disputed house in Hebron will be evacuated according to the High Court's ruling.
"The rule of law in Israel is not a recommendation but rather an objective that must be achieved in its entirety," Dichter was quoted by the website of Yedioth Ahronoth as saying at a meeting with representatives of the security establishments.
Dichter's comments came after an Israeli soldier was lightly wounded overnight Wednesday when turpentine was poured over him in clashes with dozens of Hebron settlers who had entered nearby Palestinian villages.
According to Army Radio, the settlers, staying at the disputed Hebron building "the house of peace", clashed with villagers and slashed the tires of a police and an Israel Defense Forces patrol car. They also scrawled the words, "Mohammad is a Pig" on the wall of a village mosque and on gravestones in a Muslim cemetery.
The controversial house has been occupied by dozens of hardline settlers since March 2007 who claim that they have bought the house from its Palestinian owner.
Yet the owner said that he had never received full payment and thus the deal was null and void.
On Sunday, the Supreme Court ordered that the inhabitants should leave the house within three days, or the police would be authorized to force them out, a ruling condemned by right-wing lawmakers and settlement leaders.
The ruling is likely to trigger a violent confrontation between the hardline settlers and their supporters and Israeli security forces, as some settlers have threatened an Amona-style resistance.
It alludes to massive clashes between settlers and security forces during the evacuation of the West Bank outpost of Amona in early 2006, in which some 300 people were injured.
Source:Xinhua
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