Jewish-Arab clash averted
Rightist activists planned to evacuate Palestinians from east Jerusalem home on US Independence Day; internal security minister convinced them to call off plan as not to undermine Netanyahu-Obama meeting
A confrontation between right-wing activists and east Jerusalem Arabs was averted for the time being, in an effort not to undermine Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's upcoming trip to Washington.
Ahead of the PM's meeting with Obama, rightist activists were planning to evacuate Palestinians from an east Jerusalem structure dubbed the Yemenite Synagogue. The move was scheduled for Sunday, which coincides with America's Independence Day.
However, Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch reached an agreement with the activists to avoid the planned confrontation.
Earlier, police estimated that the rightists will aim to evacuate roughly 40 Palestinians living in the building. The right-wing activists say that an eviction order against the Arabs is not being executed because Israel promised the US to avoid provocative acts in the capital during indirect talks with the Palestinians.
Wrong timing
Police officials feared that a clash at the site could ignite east Jerusalem, hence prompting the internal security minister to seek an agreement with the rightists, headed by Knesset Member Uri Ariel. In a meeting Friday, Aharonovitch explained the sensitivity of the issue, especially in light of the Fourth of July timing.
"We must stop provoking and heating the atmosphere in the area," the minister said during the meeting. "I urge all involved parties to calm tensions." In closed-door sessions, Aharonovitch added that he will work towards executing eviction orders, but said this must be done at the right timing.
MK Ariel told Ynet that following the meeting with Minister Aharonovitch, the rightist activists agreed to postpone their efforts to evacuate the home. However, he warned that should the house not be evicted within a reasonable period of time, "there will be no reason not to evacuate it independently, using private security guards."
Shmulik Grossman contributed to the story
