Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Tuesday that Israel has completed a move to cancel the civil planning provisions of the 1997 Hebron Protocol, transferring planning authority in the Jewish community of Hebron and surrounding holy sites from the Palestinian Hebron Municipality to Israeli control.
Smotrich announced the completion of the process during a ceremony marking the establishment of the new community of Doran in the Hebron Hills.
“For many years, one of the most absurd clauses of Oslo remained in place, when powers relating to the Jewish settlement in Hebron and the holy places were dependent on the Hebron municipality,” Smotrich said while speaking at the inauguration of Doran, a new community in the Hebron Hills.
“Yesterday we put an end to that. This is much more than a planning step; this is a historical amendment. We continue to strengthen governance and deepen Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”
AFSI Insight
AFSI applauds Israel’s decision to place planning authority in Hebron under Israeli administration. Hebron is the birthplace of Jewish history and home to the Cave of Machpelah, second only to Jerusalem in its significance to the Jewish people. Ensuring that Israel oversees development and preservation in this sacred area strengthens Jewish rights, protects our heritage, and advances the cause of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. This is a welcome and necessary step toward correcting decades of flawed policies that weakened Israel’s position in its ancestral homeland. We pray that the decision leads to action.