Graffiti painted by the Israeli extremists on a mosque to smear Prophet Mohammed outrages the Muslims. Even the Israeli soldiers and police are suffering from small attacks of the settlers.
David Wilder, a spokesman for the settlers who refuse to be evacuated, told Xinhua on Friday that they are just trying to hold their habitation of the "House of Peace."
The four-storey building at a upper area that straddles the old city of Hebron and the adjacent Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, is guarded by two Israeli soldiers and two border policemen. Several monitors installed on its roof can surveil every motion nearby.
"The location is extremely strategic where we are very high and from here the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) can see all around," said David. "For the army, this is a strategic point where they can give better protection to all the Hebron region."
The controversial house has been occupied by dozens of Jewish settlers since March 2007, who claim that they have bought the house from its Palestinian owner.
"We have no doubt of the purchase. We have pictures of him counting the money. We have filmed that," David insisted.
Yet the owner said he had never received full payment and thus the deal was null and void, according to Palestinian lawyer Emad Hamdan.
On Sunday, the Israeli Supreme Court ordered that the Jewish inhabitants should leave the house within 72 hours, or the police would be authorized to force them out, a ruling condemned by right-wing lawmakers and settlement leaders.
Nissim Ze'ev, a lawmaker from the religious Shas party, moved into the building on Tuesday to express solidarity.
As one of the hardline residents, David refused to evacuate from the shabby building and called for other families to chain all the windows and weld the doors.
"Why should I leave my home? We are not thinking of any kind of compromise. We hope to live peacefully in the House of Peace," he said.
Along the road down to the center of Hebron lies the Cave of Patriarchs, which is the most contested holy site for both Jews and Muslims as it is said to be a tomb for Abraham and his family.
As a result, Hebron has been a flash point of Israeli-Palestinian violence in recent years. Some 650 settlers live in fortified enclaves guarded by Israeli troops in the heart of the city, home to 180,000 Palestinians.
Hebron Palestinian residents complained that the Jewish activists frequently attacked Palestinians and their houses.
"The settlers attack me when I once attended a funeral in the cemetery. We can do nothing with their harassment," Salim, a Muslim resident told Xinhua, adding that "they have no mercy on old people and children. They attack everyone that passes by the house."
The Israeli government fears that the "House of Peace" might trigger violence between the hardline settlers and the Palestinians.
The Israeli Defense Ministry said it would avoid the use of force in the evacuation and would try to persuade the settlers to leave on their own accord.
By late Wednesday, the house was still not evacuated and the settlers' protests grew hotter throughout the city.
Hundreds of right-wing extremists have already come to Hebron to impede the evacuation, and dozens of them, mostly teenagers, went on a rampage Wednesday night.
They clashed with Palestinians and desecrated Palestinian graves. In addition, Israeli military vehicles and a police car were also damaged and an IDF soldier injured as well.
Meretz party lawmakers Zahava Gak-On and Avshalom Vilan called on the defense minister to take action against the violent activists. "The time has come for these settlers to understand that Hebron is not the wild west," said Gak-On.
Hebron's Palestinian governor, Hussein al-Araj, urged Israeli authorities to halt the settler violence and carry out the court decision.
"What happened is unacceptable," he said. "The Israelis have to enforce the law and stop the suffering of the Palestinians who are living next to settlers. They have to take the settlers from this house and protect the Palestinians."
However, Palestinian lawyer Emad considered the tension between Jews and Muslims cannot be avoided unless all the Jewish settlers are evacuated from the area.
"The solution, the only solution would be the removal of the settlers and the entire settlement from the old city of Hebron," he said.
