Published on 6/17/2026
The statements of Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich regarding completely withdrawing planning and building powers from the Hebron municipality and transferring them to the occupation authorities, and canceling the Hebron Agreement signed in 1997, sparked a widespread wave of Palestinian condemnations and warnings, describing the step as paving the way for the imposition of complete Israeli control over the occupied city.
Smotrich’s statements came during the inauguration of a new settlement south of Hebron in the presence of Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz, where he announced what he considered a practical cancellation of the Hebron Agreement, by taking away planning and construction powers from the Palestinian municipality, and subjecting it to the occupation authorities.
The Hebron Agreement, signed on January 17, 1997, divides the city into two areas: “Hebron 1,” which is under Palestinian control and includes 80% of the city’s area, and “Hebron 2,” which is under Israeli control and includes large parts of the south and east of the city, including the Old City and the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Voices in the Israeli establishment adopted this approach, as Chairman of the Judea and Samaria Committee in the Knesset, Zvi Sukkot, confirmed that Israel has become the body authorized to approve construction projects, not the Palestinian Authority, considering that this effectively ends the agreement.
A denial denied by reality
On the other hand, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs was quick to deny what Smotrich announced, stressing that the agreement had not been cancelled, and that what was issued by the mini-ministerial council (the cabinet) was limited to amending powers related to planning and construction for the Jewish community in Hebron, justifying the decision by the lack of cooperation from the Hebron municipality in this file.
However, this denial seemed to contradict public statements and field actions that indicate an accelerating pace of settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
The Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee (an official Palestinian body) stated that the Israeli government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, since its formation about three and a half years ago, has approved the establishment of 103 new colonial sites, which included new colonies and colonial outposts that were begun to be settled and granted legitimacy, in addition to colonial neighborhoods that are being separated and transformed into independent colonies.
Official Palestinian condemnation
Palestinians, the Israeli move was considered a dangerous escalation affecting the legal and political status of the city of Hebron.
The Palestinian presidency warned of the danger of unilateral measures that affect the signed agreements, stressing that they constitute a flagrant violation of international law and international legitimacy.
The Palestinian presidency called on the international community, especially the American administration, to intervene immediately to stop these steps that undermine the two-state solution and threaten regional stability.
On the ground, Hebron Governor Khaled Dudin described the decision as “terrorist,” stressing that the city is occupied territory not subject to the decisions of an Israeli government, and stressing that the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Old City are registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List as exclusively Palestinian sites.
He called for intensifying the Palestinian presence in these sites, calling on the international community to break its silence regarding what he described as settler terrorism.
Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Muhammad Najm also considered that targeting Hebron comes within a systematic plan targeting its religious and national status, calling for unifying official and popular efforts to protect the Ibrahimi Mosque as an Islamic endowment and an integral part of the Palestinian identity.
A call for resistance in all its forms
In a related context, Hamas and Islamic Jihad warned of the repercussions of the Israeli move, considering that it paves the way for imposing complete control over the city and accelerating annexation and settlement projects.
The two movements stressed that the Israeli measures constitute an unprecedented escalation and an attempt to impose a new fait accompli, calling for an escalation of the popular confrontation and strengthening adherence to the land.
Islamic Jihad also held international and Arab parties responsible for the continuation of these policies in light of what it described as silence and impotence, while Hamas called on the international community and the United Nations to take urgent action to stop the Israeli measures.
The two movements also called on the Palestinian people to escalate all tools of confrontation and movement rejecting annexation and settlement plans, and to activate tools of resistance in all its forms to confront “aggressive policies.”
This escalation comes in the context of successive Israeli steps aimed at reshaping the reality in the West Bank, the most notable of which was Smotrich’s announcement last February of the start of the process of registering large areas of West Bank land as state land, in a precedent that is the first since the 1967 occupation.
