Yesterday was interesting on a political level. The Israeli government responding to it's Supreme Court cleared out a number of residents of a house in Hebron. The ownership of the building is contested and the courts have not yet reached a decision.
Ehud Barak played a trick on the settler movement by agreeing to work out a compromise. This effort led the residents to lower their guard, allowing the Israeli Border Police to storm in uncontested and take over the building without casualties. Angry residents of near-by (on foot) Kiryat Arba confronted joyous Palestinians. The jews broke into occupied residences and there are reports of two people being shot by a jew (either by rubber bullets, or by live fire.)
Implications:
The Israeli Supreme Court once again got caught playing politics. They should have made a legal decision on the ownership and then asks the executive branch to enforce it. (Bad)
Ehud Barak has lost whatever credibility he had with the settlers. (Bad)
The Border Police were able to clear the building without causing or receiving any serious wounds. (Good)
The settlers foolishly allowed some of their supporters to violate the law and take revenge on the Palestinians. (Bad)
The settlement movement's current plan is to present themselves as separate from the rest of Israel. Their activities alienate the majority of the populous, turning the movement not into martyrs, but into daemons. This is a lose-lose situation. It creates rifts within the Israeli culture and enables the left to further widen the gap by arguing that anyone supporting the settlers is clearly criminal and/or insane.
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