(JNS) Israel recently reassumed administrative control over the Cave of the Patriarchs in the Judean city of Hebron after Palestinian Authority and Islamic officials refused to coordinate on renovations at the holy site, JNS has learned.
Jerusalem decided to start a process to transfer authority from the Islamic trust that has managed the site to the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Religious Council to improve infrastructure for Jewish worshippers, Hebron’s international spokesperson confirmed to JNS on Tuesday.
Among the projects that are being advanced by the Israeli government are a plan to build a new roof over the Jacob’s Courtyard, where Jewish prayers are held, as well as the installation of a fire safety system. Both plans have long been delayed to PA opposition.
The Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit confirmed to JNS on Tuesday that, acting on orders of the political echelon, it was advancing “required planning procedures for the purpose of roofing the courtyard of the Tomb of the Patriarchs, for the benefit of all populations praying at the site.”
“It is emphasized that roofing the compound will not affect the prayer arrangements or the status quo at the Tomb of the Patriarchs,” it said.
The Cave of the Patriarchs (“Mearat Hamachpela“) is the burial place of the Jewish patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and matriarchs Sarah, Rebecca and Leah. According to the biblical account, the cave was first purchased by Abraham from Ephron the Hittite over 3,000 years ago.
After the Jewish state retook Judea, including the city of Hebron, during the 1967 Six-Day War, Jerusalem did not apply its sovereignty to Judaism’s second-holiest site, leaving its management in the hands of the Islamic Waqf (trust) that manages a mosque built on the holy site.
For security reasons, the tomb is divided into Jewish and Muslim areas. A rotation system allows Jews and Muslims to visit each other’s side on certain religious holidays.
The involvement of the Waqf, and later the PA, has long complicated affairs in Hebron, with security forces even needing permission from them to access the on-site cameras, according to Israel Hayom.
Shai Glick, the director of B’Tsalmo, a conservative Jewish human rights group, told the newspaper last week that Israel assuming control of the cave restored “dignity and sovereignty.”
The Hebron tomb “is registered in the Book of Genesis as belonging to the Jewish people,” he emphasized, adding that “for too long, due to a misguided decision by [former Israeli Defense Minister] Moshe Dayan, the site was managed by the Waqf and military authorities.”
“After making the site accessible to the disabled, it’s time for it to be properly covered, air-conditioned and upgraded with restrooms and other facilities,” the Jewish rights activist concluded.
Recently, after three decades of legal and political battles, an elevator was inaugurated to improve handicap accessibility, eliminating the need for visitors to climb nearly 90 steps to access the holy site.
The $1.6 million project included a sloped path, an elevator and an enclosed footbridge, making the holy site accessible to those with mobility challenges.
Efforts to build the elevator were mired in petitions filed through Israel’s courts by Palestinians, who claimed that the project damaged the site’s archaeological and architectural significance, and that Jerusalem had illegally expropriated land for the initiative. A High Court of Justice ruling in November 2021 cleared the remaining legal hurdles.
In a statement issued on Feb. 26, the PA Ministry of Religious Affairs claimed that the cave is “an exclusive Islamic endowment,” accusing Israel of seeking to transform it from a mosque into a synagogue.
