Smotrich claims historic Hebron shift as Israel advances new building plans

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared he had ended the municipality of Hebron's authority over Jewish settlement approvals, a move that saw the Higher Planning Council greenlight construction plans in the West Bank without Palestinian municipal consent. This marks the first such approval since the 1997 Hebron Agreement.

The decision, presented by Smotrich as a significant political and settlement achievement, was practically implemented with the approval of a new 1,000-square-meter building for the Shavei Hebron yeshiva. This bypasses a clause from the Oslo Accords and the Hebron Agreement that required Palestinian municipal approval for Jewish community projects, a situation long criticized by right-wing figures who argued it hindered development due to a lack of cooperation.

Smotrich linked the move to his broader West Bank policy of settlement regularization and strengthening Israeli sovereignty. However, the Foreign Ministry quickly issued a clarification stating that the Hebron Agreement itself remained intact. The ministry explained that a focused decision was made by the political-security cabinet months prior to reassign planning and construction authorities for the Jewish community and heritage sites in Hebron due to persistent non-cooperation from the Palestinian municipality.

The construction approval on Wednesday is seen as the first practical test of this cabinet decision. Previously, in December, the Civil Administration's Supreme Planning Council had withdrawn planning powers for the Cave of the Patriarchs from the Hebron Municipality after the municipality and the Islamic Waqf rejected a project to construct a roof over a section of the cave.