{"id":23005,"date":"2026-06-18T04:59:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/israel-signals-status-quo-shake-up-over-cave-of-the-patriarchs-hebron\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T04:59:02","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T23:29:02","slug":"israel-signals-status-quo-shake-up-over-cave-of-the-patriarchs-hebron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/israel-signals-status-quo-shake-up-over-cave-of-the-patriarchs-hebron\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel signals status quo shake-up over Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_7Q5y4HeM80Q?ui_title_intro=Listen+now%3A&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.1.5\" width=\"100%\" height=\"136px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(RNS) \u2014 Bezalel Smotrich, Israel\u2019s finance minister, declared the end of the Hebron Accord on Tuesday (June 16), further undermining agreements with the Palestinian Authority and furthering Israel\u2019s efforts to extend control over the West Bank.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry quickly clarified only parts of the agreement are canceled that\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">had given the Palestinian Authority and the Hebron municipality three decades of control over planning and construction at the burial site of the patriarch Abraham.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The site, known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque and to Jews as Ma\u2019arat HaMakhpela \u2014 the Cave of the Patriarchs, in English \u2014 is the second-most-sacred site to both Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land. According to tradition, it was purchased by Abraham and, in addition to his own grave, houses those of the biblical patriarchs Isaac and Jacob, as well as the matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca and Leah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Security Cabinet decision gives Israeli authorities increased control over the holy sites in Hebron, as well as other holy sites in the West Bank, such as the tomb of the matriarch Rachel in Bethlehem. It also means Israelis living in Hebron will no longer need to depend on the Palestinian Authority for day-to-day sanitation and road maintenance issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Hebron Accord, facilitated by the U.S., divided the city into two security zones, allowing 80% Palestinian control. It was signed in 1997 as part of a series of agreements often referred to as the Oslo Accords that established the Palestinian Authority and its jurisdiction over the West Bank.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The dilution of the Hebron Accord comes at a time when the status quo around several of the region\u2019s holy sites is facing an uncertain future.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In May, reports indicated that U.S. and Israeli leaders were mulling cutting Jordan\u2019s royal family out of their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/04\/the-status-quo-at-jerusalems-al-aqsa-mosque-is-deteriorating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">traditional role as custodians of the Temple Mount<\/span><\/a>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Last week, Theophilos III, the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Jerusalem and one of the key custodians of Christian sites in the Old City, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/10\/trumps-meeting-with-orthodox-christian-patriarch-sows-confusion\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">met with President Donald Trump in Washington<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens to gather support for his church\u2019s continued custodianship of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smotrich, the head of the Religious Zionist party in Israel\u2019s Knesset and a leader in the settlement movement, made the remarks at the dedication of a new settlement in the Hebron hills region of the West Bank on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cFor many years, one of the most absurd clauses of the Oslo Accords<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">remained in place, in which authority over the Jewish settlement in Hebron and the holy sites were dependent on the terrorist municipality of Hebron,\u201d Smotrich <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/search\/?q=Hebron&amp;submit=Search\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">told the crowd, according to Israeli media.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cYesterday we put an end to that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Foreign Ministry responded on X, saying the Hebron Accord has not been canceled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cSeveral months ago, the Security Cabinet adopted a decision that specifically concerns jurisdictions in the field of planning and construction with regard to the Jewish community in Hebron and Jewish heritage sites,\u201d the Foreign Ministry <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/IsraelMFA\/status\/2066872037629399136\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">said on X<\/span><\/a>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cThis decision was made following years of a complete lack of cooperation on these matters by the Hebron Municipality. Beyond that, no changes have been made.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jewish leaders in Hebron also stressed that much of the accords will remain in place, but the Palestinian Authority\u2019s veto power over construction of new buildings would be circumvented.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThere are some responsibilities that have been returned to the Jewish municipality,\u201d Noam Arnon, a spokesman for the Hebron Jewish community, told Religion News Service. \u201cAuthority over building and planning and the Jewish buildings and Jewish community now will not be in the hands of the Palestinian Authority but in the hands of the Jewish authority.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Less than a day after Smotrich\u2019s announcement, construction of a large yeshiva complex and more than 500 housing units was approved in the Hebron Area \u2014 the first time in decades without Palestinian consent, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ynetnews.com\/article\/hyovuglfge\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Israeli media reported.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Arnon noted that Israeli authorities had already begun work on modernizing the water, electrical and air conditioning system on the Jewish side of the Cave of the Patriarchs, something that previously would have required the Palestinian Authority\u2019s green light.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He said that the changes would not impact the Muslim side of the site and that it would not impact Muslim Palestinians\u2019 freedom of prayer there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The head of Hebron\u2019s Jewish community, Eyal Gelman, called the changes \u201ca historic decision.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIsrael deepens its roots \u2026 lifting the honor of the entire nation,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/hebron.org.il\/en\/hebron-israelis-granted-municipal-control-in-historic-decision\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the Jewish Community of Hebron said in a June 16 statement.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cThese powers will allow the Hebron local council to build and expand in the city of the founding fathers and mothers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hebron has long been one of the starkest flashpoints in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Unique in the West Bank, it\u2019s the only place with an Israeli settlement in the middle of a major Palestinian urban center.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The West Bank\u2019s largest city, Hebron has an Arab population of over 200,000, while some 700 Jewish Israelis live on a few streets of its old city, not far from the Cave of the Patriarchs.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Hebron Accords expelled the Israeli military from most of the city that came under Palestinian control but kept Israeli soldiers in about 20% of Hebron around the Jewish settlement, resulting in some 35,000 Palestinians living under Israeli rule.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smotrich\u2019s declaration Tuesday has been widely criticized by leaders in and outside of the region.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas \u201cstressed that such unilateral measures are rejected and condemned, and constitute a violation of signed agreements with the Israeli side, as well as a breach of international law and international legitimacy, which prohibit altering the status quo in the occupied territory of the State of Palestine,\u201d according to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/english.wafa.ps\/Pages\/Details\/171757\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a statement put out by his office<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which represents 57 Muslim nations, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oic-oci.org\/en\/news\/8023\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">similarly warned <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that Israel\u2019s plans in Hebron amount to undermining its political, historical and legal status.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Washington responded by warning against annexation as President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spar over Trump\u2019s own unilateral moves to end the U.S.-Israel <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">war with Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAs the president has clearly stated, he does not support Israel annexing the West Bank,\u201d <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.timesofisrael.com\/liveblog_entry\/asked-for-comment-on-smotrich-annulment-of-hebron-agreement-us-reiterates-opposition-to-west-bank-annexation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a State Department spokesperson told Israeli media<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. \u201cA stable West Bank keeps Israel secure and is in line with this administration\u2019s goal to achieve peace in the region.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/17\/israel-signals-status-quo-shakeup-over-cave-of-the-patriarchs\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(RNS) \u2014 Bezalel Smotrich, Israel\u2019s finance minister, declared the end of the Hebron Accord on Tuesday (June 16), further undermining agreements with the Palestinian Authority and furthering Israel\u2019s efforts to extend control over the West Bank. But Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry quickly clarified only parts of the agreement are canceled that\u00a0had given the Palestinian Authority and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23006,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23005"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23005\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23006"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}