Smotrich Says Hebron Accord Planning Arrangements Have Been Canceled

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced today (Tuesday), at the ceremony declaring the new community of Doran in the Hebron Hills, that last night a move was completed under which all planning and construction authority granted to the Hebron Municipality במסגרת the Hebron Agreement was withdrawn from the city.

According to the minister, the move was carried out following a cabinet decision approved several months ago, and last night the Higher Planning Council adopted the decisions required to complete the move in practice. The meaning of the decision is that planning and construction authority in the Jewish community of Hebron and at the holy sites, including the Cave of the Patriarchs, is no longer in the hands of the Hebron Municipality, but returns to the full responsibility of the State of Israel.

During his speech, Minister Smotrich said: “Yesterday we canceled the Hebron agreements. For many long years, one of the most absurd clauses of Oslo remained in place, with authorities relating to the Jewish community in Hebron and the holy sites dependent on Hebron’s terror municipality. Yesterday we put an end to that.”

"This is far more than a planning step. This is a historic correction. We are continuing the revolution of regulating settlement, strengthening governance, and deepening Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria."

Following Smotrich’s declaration that the Hebron agreements had been canceled definitively, the organization B’Tsalmo said: "And the children shall return to their border—the Cave of the Patriarchs must be honored like the Western Wall, the grave of *Rashbi*, and the other holy sites. We are calling today as well to formulate a national heritage plan for the site that includes a full and comprehensive renovation of the המקום, the establishment of a huge visitors center at the entrance, and turning the site into a national heritage site בדיוק like the Western Wall and the grave of *Rashbi*."