Ancient city of Hebron to see first Israeli construction in 16 years

On Sunday afternoon, Israel’s government approved for the first time in 16 years a budget for building new Jewish homes in Hebron.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

On Sunday, Oct. 14, the Israeli government approved a budget of roughly $6 million for a 31-unit housing complex to be built in the city of Hebron, located in the hill country of Judea. It is the first approved construction in 16 years.

Yishai Fleisher, international spokesman for the Hebron Jewish community, praised the government’s decision. “The Jewish community of Hebron thanks the Government of Israel for its determined decision to build, in a joint effort, the City of the Patriarchs of the Jewish people, as a victorious answer to all deniers of Jewish history. We deeply thank all the ministers who helped make this important decision happen,” he said.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman also hailed the decision as an “important milestone.”

“A new Jewish neighborhood in Hebron, for the first time in 20 years! Instead of a military camp, we will build a new neighborhood, with space for 31 apartments, 2 kindergartens and a dormitory,” Lieberman said in a statement.

The Hebron Jewish community has been urging the government to approve more construction for years. In 2017, following a ruling by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO) that labeled the Tomb of the Patriarchs an endangered Palestinian world heritage site, the community issued a statement that called for lifting the freeze on Jewish building in Hebron and increasing the Israel’s presence there.

The project will be in the “Hezekiah Quarter,” named after Rabbi Chaim Hezekiah Medini, a Torah legend who lived in the city. Six families currently live in the area in caravan-style trailers near  the Shavei Hebron Yeshiva and an Israeli army base called Plugat Hamitkanim.

Referring to Hebron as a “Palestinian city,” the left-wing organization Peace Now, which had submitted an appeal against the construction’s approval, criticized the decision.

“The government is again wasting millions of shekels of public funds in order to placate a fringe radical minority. The settlement that is most damaging to Israel’s reputation is Hebron, and instead of evacuating it, it appears that the government is trying by force to further entangle Israel and to exacerbate the conflict,” the organization’s statement read.

Eighty Jewish families live in Hebron, which is overwhelmingly made up of Arab residents. In 1929, a small community of  700 Jews lived in the Hebron area, but were forced to evacuate following a massacre by Muslim residents.

Hebron, a city rich in Jewish history, has been the sight of ongoing conflict between Jews and Arabs. According to the Bible, it is where Abraham, the first patriarch, purchased land as a burial plot. It was also the seat of King David’s government for the first seven years of his rule.

周日下午，以色列政府16年来首次批准在希布伦建造新犹太人住房的预算。

世界以色列新闻大卫艾萨克

10月14日星期日，以色列政府批准了一项约600万美元的预算，用于在位于犹太山区的希伯伦市建造一座31个单元的住宅区。这是16年来第一个获批的建筑。

希伯伦犹太人社区的国际发言人Yishai Fleisher对政府的决定表示赞赏。 “希伯伦的犹太人社区感谢以色列政府决心共同建立犹太人族长城，作为对犹太历史上所有否认者的胜利回答。我们非常感谢帮助做出这一重要决定的所有部长，“他说。

国防部长阿维格多·利伯曼也称这一决定是“重要的里程碑”。

“希伯伦新的犹太社区，这是20年来的第一次！我们将建造一个新的社区，而不是军营，可容纳31间公寓，2所幼儿园和一间宿舍，“利伯曼在一份声明中说。

希伯伦犹太人社区多年来一直敦促政府批准更多建设。 2017年，在联合国教育，科学，文化组织（教科文组织）宣布将族长之墓标记为濒临灭绝的巴勒斯坦世界遗产之后，该社区发表声明，呼吁取消对希伯伦犹太人建筑物的冻结。增加以色列在那里的存在。

该项目将位于“Hezekiah Quarter”，以居住在该市的Torah传说Rabbi Chaim Hezekiah Medini命名。目前有六个家庭住在Shavei Hebron Yeshiva附近的大篷车式拖车区以及一个叫做Plugat Hamitkanim的以色列军队基地。

将希布伦称为“巴勒斯坦城市”的左翼组织立刻实现了对建筑批准的上诉，并批评了这一决定。

“政府再次浪费数百万谢克尔的公共资金，以安抚边缘激进的少数民族。对以色列声誉最具破坏性的解决方案是希伯伦，而不是疏散它，似乎政府正试图通过武力进一步纠缠以色列并加剧冲突，“该组织的声明宣读。

80个犹太家庭住在希伯伦，这里绝大部分是阿拉伯居民。 1929年，一个由700名犹太人组成的小社区居住在希伯伦地区，但在穆斯林居民大屠杀后被迫撤离。

希伯伦是一个富有犹太历史的城市，一直是犹太人与阿拉伯人之间持续冲突的视线。根据圣经，这是第一位族长亚伯拉罕购买土地作为墓地的地方。在他统治的头七年里，它也是大卫王政府的所在地。