Following reports of the Jabari clan from Hebron contacting Minister Nir Barkat to establish a local emirate in Hebron and join the Abraham Accords, a storm has erupted in Palestinian Arab media.
Local tribes quickly disassociated themselves from the move, but the spokesperson for the Jewish community in Hebron, Noam Arnon, is convinced that it is an authentic initiative representing the will of the local public.
“In a clan of tens of thousands of people, there are diverse opinions, but the overall spirit is clear – a desire for clan leadership under Israeli sovereignty,” says Arnon. According to him, the movement is impossible without an Israeli sovereign infrastructure: “They have been rebelling against the PA for a long time. This is authentic local leadership that is no longer willing to live under the rule of ‘the corrupt ones’.”
In conclusion, he warns against establishing a Palestinian state: “If we don’t offer our sovereignty, the residents will be left with no way out under corrupt and terrorist rule. This is a historical responsibility that the State of Israel cannot shirk.”
On our Chizuk Mission’s May trip to Israel we ran into and met with our dear friend Noam Arnon when we were all at Ma’arat HaMachpela.