(RNS) — Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister, declared the end of the Hebron Accord on Tuesday (June 16), further undermining agreements with the Palestinian Authority and furthering Israel’s efforts to extend control over the West Bank.
But Israel’s Foreign Ministry quickly clarified only parts of the agreement are canceled that 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.
The site, known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque and to Jews as Ma’arat HaMakhpela — the Cave of the Patriarchs, in English — 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.
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 s …