The Higher Planning Council for the Civil Administration, an administrative and military body dependent on the Israeli Ministry of Defense, has authorized the construction of a large yeshiva, a Jewish study center, in a settlement in the West Bank city of Hebron, after revoking agreements that linked these types of projects to the municipality.
"The Higher Planning Council in the Civil Administration today approved 576 housing units in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), including an unprecedented step: the approval of a building for the 'Shavei Hebron' yeshiva without the need for approval from the Hebron municipality," indicated the Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich.
According to the head of Finance, this decision "consolidates" the Israeli presence on the ground, "strengthens Israel's security, and establishes 'facts that prevent the creation of an Arab terrorist state in the heart of the State of Israel'."
Specifically, approval has been given for a 1,000-square-meter property intended for the yeshiva, along with the construction of 456 new housing units — through different planning phases — in the settlement of Mitzpe Yeriho, near Jericho, and another 120 in the settlement of Elmatan.
The measure comes after the annulment of the Hebron Agreements, signed in 1997 within the framework of the Oslo Accords, which allows for the withdrawal of powers from Palestinian authorities in this city, considered one of the main focal points of the conflict. In recent months, this has been exacerbated by the acceleration in the expansion of settlements and the seizure of land by Israel, in parallel with an increase in incursions by security forces and attacks by settlers against the Palestinian population.
The original text of these agreements provided for a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Hebron, in line with what was agreed in Oslo, so that about 80% of the city remained under Palestinian administration and the remaining area remained under Israeli control. However, even in this latter area, the majority of residents are Palestinians, with small clusters of Jewish settlers.
Thus, Israel maintained security control in the second area, known as H2 —where the Tomb of the Patriarchs is located—, while civil responsibilities, including those related to urban planning and construction in this sector, remained in the hands of the Palestinian authorities until the recent cancellation.