The Foreign Ministry has denied Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s claim of having annulled the 1997 Hebron Agreement in a Tuesday post to X/Twitter.
“Contrary to the Finance Minister’s statement, the Hebron Agreement has not been canceled,” the ministry wrote on X.
Under the 1997 Hebron Agreement, the Hebron Municipality oversaw planning and construction across the city, including the Cave of the Patriarchs and the adjoining Ibrahimi Mosque.
The ministry noted that the only change to the agreement was made several months ago, when the Security Cabinet adopted legislation specifically concerning the planning and construction of Hebron’s Jewish heritage sites and Jewish community.
In December, the Supreme Planning Council of the Civil Administration had pulled planning powers over the Cave of the Patriarchs from the Hebron Municipality after the municipality and the Islamic Waqf rejected a project to construct roofing over a section of the tomb.
The decision, the ministry added, was made after “years of a complete lack of cooperation on these matters by the Hebron Municipality.”
Smotrich claims to end the Hebron Agreement during settlement inauguration
Smotrich’s announcement of the reported annulment of the Hebron Accords was made during the inauguration ceremony for the new West Bank settlement of Doron, located in the Hebron hills.
“For many long years, one of the most absurd clauses of Oslo remained in place, whereby authorities relating to the Jewish settlement in Hebron and to the holy sites were subject to the terrorist municipality of Hebron,” Smotrich said. “Yesterday [Monday] we put an end to that."
He called the move a “historic correction,” noting that it is part of the initiative to regulate settlements and “deepening Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."
Under Smotrich’s claim, all planning and construction responsibilities granted to the Hebron Municipality under the Hebron Agreement had been withdrawn and instead “returned” to the israeli government.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas's office called the seizure of powers an "infringement upon the political and legal status of Hebron," and a violation of international law.
Many MKs, including Smotrich, have pushed for Israel’s annexation of the West Bank - a move that has widely been criticized by the international community.
Israel advances bill for authority over West Bank heritage, archaeology sites
Recently, several Israeli initiatives in the field of heritage and archaeology have been put forth to extend Israel’s authority in the West Bank, the most prominent of which is the proposal to create a new civilian authority to oversee antiquities and heritage sites in the region.
The bill passed its first reading in mid-May and was debated in the Knesset ahead of its second and third readings in early June, after seeking an amendment to grant authority over the Gaza Strip as well.
Currently, oversight of the West Bank’s antiquities and heritage sites belongs to the Civil Administration’s Archaeology Unit – a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) - and its staff officer, Benyamin Har Even.
It is responsible for the preservation, management, and development of antiquities and archaeological sites in the West Bank, as well as preventing looting, antiquities smuggling, and illegal excavations in the region.
According to the bill, these responsibilities, as well as the ability to expropriate and acquire land needed for preservation, would be passed to the proposed Judea and Samaria Heritage Authority.
Under the Oslo Accords, Israel’s authority extends only to Area C, where it maintains both civil and military control. For Areas A and B, civil governance falls to the Palestinian Authority, which has its own Culture Ministry overseeing preservation efforts.
Additionally, in May, Israel approved a NIS 250 million plan to preserve heritage and antiquities sites across the West Bank, the Jordan Valley, and the Judean Desert.
New heritage centers, set to serve as research and educational facilities, and visitor centers will be constructed at sites in these areas in order to bolster “the connection of the Israeli public to the Jewish people's historic assets in the region.”
A multi-year plan worth tens of millions of shekels will also be implemented to upgrade existing infrastructure and, hopefully, turn the sites into major tourist destinations.
The plan also seeks to intensify efforts to prevent the looting and destruction of antiquities in the region.
Keshet Neev, Danielle Greyman-Kennard, Tzvi Jasper, and Reuters contributed to this report.