I haven’t written about Beit HaShalom since the Hebron Community took possession of the house but it does not mean I have not been watching. The case is now being argued before the Israeli courts with the state alleging the Hebron community forged the documents of sale. Ynet News carries this potential insight into the government’s case.
Leading specialist employed by State's courts as expert on forensic document examination validates papers proving Palestinian owner sold home to Jewish buyers, rejects conclusions of police forensic team as result of substandard scientific work.
(...)
The heated battle over the property centers on the claim made by the Jewish Community, which asserts that it legally purchased the house whereas the State asserts that any proof of its purchase by the Jewish residents was forged.
The State Prosecution based its case on the report issued by the Jerusalem Police forensics laboratory, which examined the documents provided by the Hebron Jewish Community. The community claims that the documents that raised the authorities' suspicions were not the actual contracts proving the purchase of the house but rather supplementary paperwork such as the authorization of the Palestinian notary in Jericho.
The community enlisted the services of document examination expert Dr. Mordechai Vardi, a specialist who serves as the top authority on document analysis for the courts. After reviewing the case Dr. Vardi said the police report which the State built its case on did not comply with the necessary professional criteria and was overly vague; failing to provide detailed explanations for its assessments.
Vardi heavily criticized the fact that the police forensic report failed to acknowledge the most important document, the authenticity of which has not been challenged – the deed signed by the Palestinian owners transferring ownership of the house. According to Vardi there is no questioning the genuineness of the documents and signatures of the Palestinians who made the sale. Vardi said it was probable that the police based their analysis on a so-called 'self-forgery' made by the Palestinians. Meaning that the signatures they provided to the police for comparison's sake were purposely altered to mislead the forensic investigators.
Of course, any Arab convicted of selling land to Jews faces an automatic death sentence within the control of the Palestinian Authority - so would it really be out of the bounds of possibilities that the Palestinians involved would supply the Israeli authorities with forged documents?
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