Israel expels Palestinian family from home in Hebron's Old City

By Qais Abu Samra

HEBRON CITY, Palestine (AA) - Israeli authorities on Friday kicked out a Palestinian family from their home in Hebron's Old City in the southern occupied West Bank.

The Hebron Municipality rejected the move by Tel Aviv, asserting in a statement that the home was municipal property.

It added that the family of Bader Batesh, who lived in the house, was expelled without prior warning.

"This is an unjust attack, the building is owned by the Municipality, and through its legal team, it will take required legal measures to reclaim it," the municipality said.

The Old City area of Hebron is under the Israeli military's full control, with 400 settlers living there and guarded by nearly 1,500 Israeli soldiers.

The Hebron Protocol, which Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) signed in 1997, divided the city into two areas: H1, which constitutes about 80% of the city's residential area in which the Palestinian Authority assumes responsibility, and H2, where Israel retains all powers and responsibilities, including over the Ibrahimi Mosque and Old City.

* Writing by Ahmed Asmar