• Major commercial and industrial hub, Hebron is home to one-third of the West Bank population
• Israeli media says Tel Aviv plans to separate Hebron from Palestinian Authority jurisdiction, replacing local leaders with selected local clans 

JERUSALEM/ANKARA

As Israel continues its campaign of mass killing in Gaza, it is simultaneously advancing plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, moving to establish an administrative area in Hebron separate from Palestinian Authority control.

With nearly one million residents, roughly one-third of the West Bank population, Hebron is a major commercial and industrial hub in the occupied territory.

The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron’s Old City, under Israeli control, adds religious importance to the area, where around 400 illegal settlers live under the protection of 1,500 Israeli soldiers.

The roots of the conflict over Hebron date back to the 1997 Hebron Protocol, which divided the city into H1, under Palestinian Authority administration, and H2, including the Old City and Ibrahimi Mosque, under Israeli control.

Since 1994, the mosque itself has been divided between Jews (63%) and Muslims (37%) following a deadly attack by an illegal settler that killed 29 worshippers.

In 2017, the UN culture agency UNESCO designated the Ibrahimi Mosque as Palestinian heritage.  

Division plan

Last week, Israeli Channel 24 reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to discuss separating Hebron from Palestinian Authority jurisdiction, replacing local leaders with selected local clans.

The move is framed as a response to plans by several Western countries to recognize a Palestinian state during this month’s UN General Assembly meetings.

According to the broadcaster, the planned entity in Hebron could formally recognize Israel as a Jewish state and potentially join the Abraham Accords normalization agreements with Arab states.

On Wednesday, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Israel plans to annex 82% of the occupied West Bank to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.  

‘Hebron Emirate’

On the ground, the Israeli army escalated its assaults in Hebron, raiding schools, arresting students and teachers, and confiscating books and flags, according to local residents.

Attacks also targeted local leaders in the area. On Tuesday, Hebron Mayor Tayseer Abu Sneineh was arrested in a predawn raid on accusations of “supporting terrorism and incitement.”

Belal Shobaki, head of Political Science Department at Hebron University, said Israel is revisiting a 1978 failed strategy known as “Village Leagues” to use clans as a point for control, a move rejected by local tribes.

Hebron’s illegal settlements are interspersed throughout the city, giving Israel enhanced security leverage.

“The notion of a ‘Hebron Emirate’ suggests autonomy, but in reality, Israel seeks to overturn the 1997 Hebron Protocol,” Shobaki explained.

He warned that such a plan would fragment official Palestinian institutions into disconnected service providers, leaving Palestinians under a de facto Israeli rule.

“Hebron is the only West Bank city with settlements embedded within Palestinian neighborhoods, surrounded from all sides, making Israeli security control feasible,” Shobaki said.   

Palestinian rejection

Palestinian officials and local clans have strongly rejected the Israeli plan to divide Hebron.

Assistant Foreign Minister Ahmed al-Deek stressed that Hebron and the rest of Palestinian lands are indivisible.

“The Palestinian state must be established on all the territories occupied in 1967, including East Jerusalem,” he said.

Local tribes also staged a demonstration outside the governor’s office to denounce the Israeli plan to divide Hebron.

“Israel is waging a comprehensive war on the Palestinian people,” said Adnan al-Rajabi, a clan leader.

“Dividing the West Bank and separating Hebron from the Palestinian Authority is totally unacceptable. No clan in Hebron will cooperate with this scheme,” he said.

Last month, Israel approved a major settlement project, called E1, which aims to split the occupied West Bank into two parts, cutting off the northern cities of Ramallah and Nablus from Bethlehem and Hebron in the south and isolating East Jerusalem.

The international community, including the UN, considers the Israeli settlements illegal under international law. The UN has repeatedly warned that continued settlement expansion threatens the viability of a two-state solution, a framework seen as key to resolving the decades-long Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In an advisory opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.