A day after Finance Minister and Defense Ministry Minister Bezalel Smotrich declared the “cancellation of the Hebron Accords,” Israel approved construction in Hebron without needing approval from the city government, a move that has not happened for decades. The Higher Planning Council approved 576 new housing units in the West Bank on Wednesday, including a 1,000-square-meter building for the Shavei Hebron yeshiva near Beit Romano.
The decision came after Smotrich said parts of the Hebron agreement that required approval from the Hebron municipality had been revoked, effectively shifting planning and building authority in the Jewish community and holy sites in the city back to the State of Israel. He said, “We are continuing to build the Land of Israel in practice, and to implement practical sovereignty in the settlement.”
Alongside the Hebron approval, the council advanced 456 housing units in Metzpe Yericho in Binyamin by depositing the planning scheme for public review. In Karnei Shomron, in the El Matan neighborhood, 120 housing units were granted final approval after objections and years of disputes were removed.
Smotrich called the Hebron and Metzpe Yericho decisions “important and moving,” saying they are part of a national move that strengthens Israel’s hold on the area, improves security, and prevents the creation of “an Arab terror state in the heart of the country.” But later on Wednesday, the Foreign Ministry, headed by Gideon Sa’ar, issued an unusual English clarification saying the Hebron Accords had not been canceled. It said the cabinet had months earlier approved a limited decision on planning powers for the Jewish community in Hebron and Jewish heritage sites because the Hebron municipality had offered no cooperation, and that nothing else had changed.
