A day after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared the “cancellation of the Hebron Accords,” prompting an unusual clarification from the Foreign Ministry, construction in Hebron was approved for the first time in decades without requiring approval from the city’s municipality.
The Higher Planning Council approved 576 new housing units in the West Bank on Wednesday. As part of the decision, it also approved construction of a 1,000-square-meter building for Shavei Hebron Yeshiva near Beit Romano.
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The Cave of the Patriarchs, inside the Jewish community in Hebron, Bezalel Smotrich
(Photo: REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg, Alex Kolomoisky)
Following Smotrich’s declaration that part of the Hebron agreement requiring approval from the Hebron Municipality had been canceled, the decision was approved without the municipality’s consent for the first time in decades.
Alongside the historic approval in Hebron, a zoning plan for 456 housing units in Mitzpe Jericho in the Binyamin region was approved for deposit. In Karnei Shomron, in the El Matan neighborhood, 120 housing units were given final approval after objections and lengthy disputes were removed.
“We continue to build the Land of Israel in practice and implement practical sovereignty in the settlement enterprise,” said Smotrich, who also serves as a minister in the Defense Ministry. “Bringing thousands of new residents to Mitzpe Jericho and establishing a new building for Shavei Hebron Yeshiva in the city of the patriarchs are both moving and important. This is a national move that strengthens our hold on the territory, bolsters Israel’s security and sets clear facts that prevent the establishment of an Arab terrorist state in the heart of the country.”
Smotrich said Tuesday that he had canceled the planning and construction arrangements set out in the Hebron agreement. According to his statement, planning and construction authority in the Jewish community in Hebron and in Jewish holy sites would no longer be held by the Hebron Municipality and would return to Israeli state responsibility.
Several hours after Smotrich’s remarks, the Foreign Ministry, headed by Gideon Sa’ar, issued an English-language clarification rejecting the claim that the Hebron Agreement had been canceled.
“Contrary to the Finance Minister’s statement, the Hebron Agreement has not been canceled,” the ministry said.
“Several 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. This 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.”
Smotrich’s move was presented as a response to sanctions imposed by several countries on him, extremist settlers and settlement organizations. According to the minister, it completes a process that began with a cabinet decision approved in February and ended with Wednesday’s Higher Planning Council approval.