After the Hebron Municipality repeatedly refused requests to construct a canopy above the Jewish prayer area at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the Civil Administration confirmed it would assume planning authority and install a roof over the courtyard.
The administration said the decision was taken due to Hebron’s “ongoing refusal” to approve the project, while stressing that the existing status quo at the Tomb of the Patriarchs would remain unchanged and that prayer arrangements would not be affected.
In July, when the government transferred partial authority over the site to the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Religious Council, the administration stated that “all population groups who pray at the site” would benefit from the planned canopy.
The Muslim prayer area has been roofed since the Crusader period, when the site functioned as a church, while the Jewish prayer area remains exposed to the elements.
The Hebron Municipality petitioned the High Court of Justice last month against Israel’s plans to transfer the planning authority, and Israel has been ordered to respond by January 7. A hearing is also expected to be held this week.
Eyal Gelman, head of the Israeli Hebron City Council, said in July that after planning the roof since 2007, a structure was finally installed last year but was swiftly removed following pressure from the Waqf, prompting a renewed legal battle over the covering.
The Palestinian Authority’s Foreign Ministry condemned the move as part of broader “Judaization projects,” arguing that the decision circumvented existing legal frameworks.
Until now, the courtyard has been managed by the Waqf, an Islamic charitable trust. The cave, believed in Abrahamic theology to be the burial site of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah, is also home to the Ibrahimi Mosque, a designated UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Palestinian Authority considers the move to construct the roof a violation of the 1997 Hebron Accords, which stipulate that Israel must obtain a permit from Hebron’s municipal authorities before undertaking such construction.
The PA Foreign Ministry claimed that such a “unilateral seizure of authorities from the Palestinian municipality and the Islamic Waqf clearly demonstrate that the objective of these measures is neither organization nor development. Rather, it is the imposition of control, the entrenchment of occupation over the Ibrahimi Mosque, and the forced alteration of the existing historical and legal status quo.”
A similar condemnation was issued by Hamas, which stated the move “represents a dangerous Judaization step. Through this move, the occupation government targets the identity of the mosque, the Arab and Islamic identity of Hebron, and the rights of our Palestinian people and Muslims to it.”
The administration has previously succeeded in making infrastructural changes against the decision of Hebron and the Waqf. In 2020, the High Court ruled in favor of the administration after the Hebron Municipality opposed the installation of an elevator near the cave intended to improve accessibility. The court ruled in the administration’s favor, finding it unreasonable to deny accessibility improvements.
Restricted access for non-Muslims at the Tomb of Patriarchs
Until the Six Day War in 1967, non-Muslim visitors were barred from entering the tomb itself. Jewish visitors were permitted access only to the “seven steps” outside the compound, and only during regulated visits.
Gelman stressed that while Jews are now permitted to enter the site, they have access to only 35% of the building and require Waqf approval even for minor maintenance, such as changing light bulbs.
Following the signing of the Oslo Accords and in the aftermath of Baruch Goldstein’s 1994 massacre of Palestinian worshipers, the site was divided into two distinct prayer areas for Jewish and Muslim worshipers, with separate entrances.