The proposal to establish an “Emirate of Hebron” has resurfaced after a controversial announcement by far-right Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Tuesday, according to Asharq Al-Awsat.
Smotrich said he had annulled the Hebron Accords and moved planning and construction authority over a site revered by both Jews and Muslims in the occupied West Bank from Palestinian authorities to Israeli control.
Palestinians dismissed the idea of “annulment,” which had been raised more than a year earlier.
The 1997 agreement granted the Palestinian Hebron municipality planning and construction authority in the H2 area of the city, while Israel maintained military control there.
Then, Smotrich annulled the Hebron Accords, while Likud Minister Nir Barkat brought five Hebron residents to a Knesset hearing to support the government’s plan for secession from the Palestinian Authority. The plan also urges the creation of an independent emirate and entry into regional normalization agreements.
He described the move as a “historic correction,” considering it an integral part of broad efforts that seek to foster what he called Israeli sovereignty in the occupied West Bank.
In response, the Palestinian Authority condemned the proposal, labeling it as a direct challenge to Hebron’s political and legal status. Moreover, Palestinian officials stated that the decision violates existing agreements, international law and international legitimacy.
Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry explained that the 1997 Hebron Agreement remained in force. Instead, the change is limited to planning and construction authority over Jewish heritage sites and the Israeli settler community in Hebron.
Settlement Expansion
In August, Smotrich announced that Israel would “bury” the idea of a Palestinian state by dividing the West Bank and cut if off from East Jerusalem.
A report in 2025 by the United Nations showed that Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank has reached its highest level since at least 2017, when the UN began systematically tracking such activity.
Israel advanced, approved, or tendered plans for nearly 47,390 housing units in 2015, compared to 26,170 in 2024.
Excluding East Jerusalem, which Israel occupied and later annexed in 1967, the West Bank is home to approximately 500,000 Israeli settlers, alongside around three million Palestinians.
Since Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023, violence in the West Bank has seen unprecedented levels.
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