Court orders settlers to leave Hebron home

A Jerusalem court has ordered the eviction of six Jewish families from a Palestinian home they inhabited in Hebron in 2005, officials said. The Jerusalem District Court ordered the families to leave the home by May 15, saying the documents submitted to the court by the settlers were found to be forged, Haaretz said Sunday. The home that belongs to Palestinian Zechariah Bakri, is located in the Tel Rumeida neighborhood in Hebron and was deserted in 2001 when the Israeli Army restricted the movement of Palestinians in that section of the city, the newspaper said. In 2009 Bakri petitioned the court claiming to be rightful owner and challenged settlers' claims that Tal Lebniya, a construction company, had lawfully purchased the property from Bakri, the paper said. Bakri had given Nadi Albatash power of attorney to negotiate a sale of the house on his behalf but the latter failed to provide documents indicating a sale took place, the paper said. Court Judge Ram Winograd wrote in his ruling, "Tal Lebniya and Albatash's account is unfounded. The conclusion is based on unanswered questions such as complete lack of details regarding the specific sale, the date of payment and property transfer and the identity of the real buyer, as well as the lack of any evidence pointing to the existence of a sale agreement and the defendants are ordered to leave the property by May 2012," the paper said.