Hebron (called al-Khalil in Arabic) is one of the first cities to develop in Palestine in the early Bronze Age. Islamic tradition holds that this was the first human establishment, where Adam and Eve lived after being driven from the Garden of Eden. The biblical name of Hebron is Kiryat Arba, or the “Village of the Four,” said to be a reference to four giants who fell from Paradise. Another explanation refers to four biblical couples said to be buried here: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah. The “four” are equally interpreted as the four hills of Hebron on which the four Canaanite tribes settled, in a confederation, to establish the first city-state. The founding of the city is even dated in the Old Testament, precisely: seven years before the creation of Tanis in Egypt, that is, in 1730 BC (Numbers 13:22). In fact, this date is attributed to a late Judaean tradition, (after the exile of the Jews to Babylon), which glorified David’s first capital, Hebron, as being older than Tanis, then Egyptian capital.
Archaeological excavations on Tel er-Rumeida (partly covered by the cemetery, south of Shuhadeh Street - the Street of the Martyrs) have shown the biblical description to be inexact (something scriptural interpretation had already foreseen) and fix the date of the founding of Hebron earlier, circa 2000 BC, a period when city-building increased in Palestine. According to the Bible, David was anointed king in Hebron (II Samuel 5:3), towards 1000 BC, but the area seceded from the kingdom of David and his inheriting son, Absalom, (II Samuel 15:10) set up his headquarters in Hebron.
During the Persian era, Hebron became one of the main cities in the Edomite province (Northern Negev). John Hyrcanus conquered the province in 134 BC, thereby acquiring full control over the trade routes between Arabia and the Mediterranean, routes which were a major source of prosperity for the region. The prestigious Haram al-Ibrahimi monument is a heritage from Roman times, when it was erected by Herod, son of an Edomite father and an Arab princess (Transjordan), a marriage that perfectly reflected the close ties between Hebron and trans-Arabian commerce. In the seventh century, the city became an important centre for Muslim pilgrims, as its Arabic name, al-Khalil er-Rahman, or “the beloved of the Merciful One,” suggests. A surah in the Quran emphasises the importance of Abraham (Ibrahim): “I will make thee an example for mankind to follow” (Quran, al-Baqara 124). Hebron fell to the Crusaders, who named it Castellum; they left few permanent marks in the urban landscape apart from the blue eyes of many of its citizens, (who may be descendants of those Crusaders who made their home her and converted to Islam.
At the end of the eighteenth century, Hebron became one of the most important commercial centres in Palestine, benefiting from trade with Egypt, whose caravans preferred the internal route through the hinterland, through Sinai and Bir es-Saba’ (Beersheba), rather than the coastal route.
During the British Mandate, the population of Hebron rose to between 10,000 - 16,000 people. The Zionist moves to create a Jewish state in Palestine caused several riots in reaction in Hebron. At the time of the national revolt in 1929, there was more than one cause; one main cause was the Zionist attempt to ignore the Status Quo agreement on access to the al-Buraq Wall (the Wailing Wall), Islamic property, which stirred up feelings particularly in Hebron, where there was also a holy shrine to the three Patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) venerated by Jews as well as Muslims. In addition, Jewish immigration brought new citizens with no inclination to assimilate, which was disrupting the balance between the two communities living in Hebron. The growing animosity exploded into violent clashes which left sixty-seven of the Jewish community dead and the British evacuated the Jewish community from the city. After the war of 1948, refugees flowed in from the southern areas of Palestine (Beersheba and the plains east of Majdal) and settled mainly in two camps, al-Arroub and al-Fawwar (UNRWA representative, Yussef al-Haljawi, 02-228 2663).
The 1967 war allowed for Zionist hopes of establishing Greater Israel (Eretz Israel in Hebrew) to become concrete. Rabbi Moshe Levinger, head of the National Religious Party, pioneered colonization in the city; he and others rented the Park Hotel, protected by the army, in the city centre. He did so as a protest against his government, which was reluctant to authorize a settlement in the centre of Hebron, fearing an uprising. However, from 1970 onwards, the Israeli government put its reservations aside and approved the construction of the first settlement on the outskirts of Hebron, giving it the city’s ancient biblical name, Kiryat Arba. In March 1979, Miriam Levinger, leading a group of women and children, occupied an abandoned hospital in the city centre (Al-Dabawiya, renamed Beit Hadassah). This time they obtained authorization for a permanent settlement.
In reaction to increased colonization, Palestinian resistance groups waged various attacks on Israeli settlers during the 1980s. The Israeli authorities responded by more repression and by deporting the mayor and the Qadi (religious judge) of Hebron as well as the mayor of the neighboring town, Halhoul. In 1983, the authorities replaced the new mayor of the city, Mustafa Natsheh, with an Israeli military officer. He was, however, reinstated in this position by the Palestinian Authority.
During the first Intifada, the people of Hebron were constantly harassed and subjected to ill treatment by settlers and Israeli soldiers alike, in addition to the endless curfews. Far from changing the situation, the “peace process” was inaugurated, just six months after the Oslo Accords were signed, by a new massacre.
The municipality of Hebron has 150,000 inhabitants, which makes it the largest city in the West Bank, after annexed East Jerusalem. The district of Hebron (over 400,000 people) is the most urbanised region: 67% are city dwellers, while 30% live in the rural areas as villagers or Bedouins, and 3% are refugees living in al-Arroub and al-Fawwar refugee camps. In spite of the settlers in its centre, Hebron is a highly dynamic economic and industrial centre, with diversified manufacturing including stone quarrying. Its inhabitants have a reputation as confirmed entrepreneurs, known for their generosity and hospitality.
Hebron today is divided into two sectors after an agreement on the withdrawal of the Israeli army on January 15, 1997. Sector H1 (80% of the municipality of Hebron) is under Palestinian autonomy (the PA); sector H2 (20%) is under Israeli control. In sector H2, which includes part of the Old City including the Tomb of the Patriarchs / al-Ibrahimi Mosque, live 40,000 Palestinians and some 500 settlers, most of whom come from the United States, but also from France. The presence of these settlers, and that of the 4,000 soldiers (CPT figures) here to protect them, explains the tension in the city. Harassment of the Palestinian population and even journalists is frequent, as are acts of vandalism. The international observers (Temporary International Presence in Hebron - TIPH and Christian Peacemakers Team - CPT), in Hebron since 1996, record all army and settler acts of harassment, including aggressions they themselves have experienced. In certain places, the boundaries are clearly indicated by fences, sometimes electrified, or more often by netting covering the streets (settlers occupy the upper floors there and throw many types of rubbish or detritus down onto these areas).
In spite of the tense situation, foreign tourists receive as warm a welcome here as in all other Palestinian cities, and a tour around the city is guaranteed to be both educational and surprising. To quote a 2004 report by The Alternative Information Centre: Occupation in Hebron, “Israel’s settlement policy, which supports the presence of radical Jewish fundamentalists with a strong anti-Arab ideology in the middle of a Palestinian city, is the proximate reason for the high level of violence in Hebron…”
Sites of Interest
Al-Haram al-Ibrahimi or Haram al-Khalil (Tomb of the Patriarchs)
Open Sunday - Thursday 8:00-16:00, except during prayers, free admission; passport necessary at various checkpoints. Jewish settlers have prayed in the mosque since 1967; but the division of the Haram into two spaces - one for Jews, the other for Muslims - followed the massacre of 1994. Waqf office; 02-222 8213/51.
The Old City
The Market (Souq)
The Hebron Museum
In the Old City; open daily 9:00-16:00 except Fridays. :02-222 3495. Frequent exhibitions and the architectural style of the museum merit a visit.
ed-Dari Hammam
Opposite the cemetery, the Street of the Martyrs (Shuhadeh Street).
The Russian Orthodox Church (al-Moskobiya)
Entry al- Moskobiya Street or west of the small monastery.Open daily 8:00-16:00.
Contacts
Mobile Library Association for Non-violence and Peace
Old City, Kantarat esh-Shallodi; 02-583 5146.
Hebron University Alumni Association (UGU)
Ein Sarah Street, Taher Amro, 059-205109. Visits to the University of Hebron and around the city.
Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH)
Ras al-Jorah, al-Zaghal Building. 02-222 4445, Fax02-222 4333, www.tiph.org; easily identified by their armbands, the observers are present in the city at all times and happy to inform visitors and talk to them.
Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT)
In the Old City, near the chicken market and also in H1, 02-222 8485.
Committee for the Rehabilitation of Hebron
In the Old City; 02-222 6993/4. Inventory of buildings and monuments in the city; guided tours (remuneration required).
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