Hebron

Hebron
Arabic transcription(s)
 • Arabicالخليل
 • LatinḤebron (ISO 259-3)
Al-Khalīl (official)
Al-Ḫalīl (unofficial)
Hebrew transcription(s)
 • Hebrewחברון
The Cave of the Patriarchs, Palestine Polytechnic University, The Old City, Tomb of Ruth and Jesse, Nabi Yunis, Downtown Hebron
Official logo of Hebron
Nickname: 
City of the Patriarchs
Hebron is located in State of Palestine
Hebron
Hebron
Location of Hebron within Palestine
Coordinates: 31°31′43″N 35°05′49″E / 31.52861°N 35.09694°E / 31.52861; 35.09694
Palestine grid159/103
StateState of Palestine (civil governance) Israel (H2 area military control)
GovernorateHebron
Government
 • TypeCity / Municipality type A (from 1997)
 • Head of MunicipalityTayseer Abu Sneineh[1]
Area
 • Metropolis
74,102 dunams (74.102 km2 or 28.611 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[3]
 • Metropolis
201,063
 • Density2,700/km2 (7,000/sq mi)
 • Metro700,000
Websitewww.hebron-city.ps
Official nameHebron/Al-Khalil Old Town
CriteriaCultural: ii, iv, vi
Reference1565
Inscription2017 (41st Session)
Endangered2017–
Area20.6 ha
Buffer zone152.2 ha

Hebron (/ˈhbrən, ˈhɛbrən/; Arabic: الخليل al-Khalīl, pronunciation or خَلِيل الرَّحْمَن Khalīl al-Raḥmān;[6] Hebrew: חֶבְרוֹן Ḥevrōn, pronunciation) is a Palestinian[7][8][9][10] city in the southern West Bank, 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the West Bank's largest governorate, known as Hebron Governorate. With a population of 201,063 in the city limits, the adjacent metropolitan area within the governorate is home to over 700,000 people. Hebron spans across an area of 74.102 square kilometres (28.611 sq mi). It is the third largest city in the country, followed by Gaza and Jerusalem. The city is often considered one of the four holy cities in Judaism as well as in Islam and Christianity.

It is considered one of the oldest cities in the Levant. According to the Bible, Abraham settled in Hebron and bought the Cave of the Patriarchs as burial place for his wife Sarah. Biblical tradition holds that the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, along with their wives Sarah, Rebecca, and Leah, were buried in the cave. The city is also recognized in the Bible as the place where David was anointed king of Israel. Following the Babylonian captivity, the Edomites settled in Hebron. During the first century BCE, Herod the Great built the wall that still surrounds the Cave of the Patriarchs, which later became a church, and then a mosque. With the exception of a brief Crusader control, successive Muslim dynasties ruled Hebron from the 6th century CE until the Ottoman Empire's dissolution following World War I, when the city became part of British Mandatory Palestine.

The 1929 riots and the Arab uprising of 1936–39 led the British government to evacuate the Jewish community from Hebron. The 1948 Arab–Israeli War saw the entire West Bank, including Hebron, occupied and annexed by Jordan, and since the 1967 Six-Day War, the city has been under Israeli military occupation. Following Israeli occupation, Jewish presence was restored in the city. Since the 1997 Hebron Protocol, most of Hebron has been governed by the Palestinian National Authority. The city is often described as a "microcosm" of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict and the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. The 1997 protocol divided the city into two sectors—H1 Hebron, controlled by the Palestinian National Authority, and H2 Hebron, managed by Israeli authorities. All security arrangements and travel permits for local residents are coordinated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel via the COGAT. The Jewish settlers have their own governing municipal body, the Committee of the Jewish Community of Hebron.

The largest city in the southern West Bank, Hebron is chief commercial and industrial center in the region. It is a busy hub of trade, generating roughly a third of the area's GDP, largely due to the sale of limestone from quarries in its area. Hebron has a local reputation for its grapes, figs, ceramics, plastics, pottery workshops, metalworking and glassblowing industry. The city is home to numerous shopping malls. The Old City of Hebron features narrow, winding streets, flat-roofed stone houses, and old bazaars. It is recognized as a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. Hebron is also known as a regional educational and medical hub.

  1. ^ "Palestinian terrorist in killing of 6 Jews elected Hebron mayor". The Times of Israel. May 14, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  2. ^ "Hebron City Profile – ARIJ" (PDF).
  3. ^ Preliminary Results of the Population, Housing and Establishments Census, 2017 (PDF). Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (Report). State of Palestine. February 2018. pp. 64–82. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  4. ^ "Women Led Enterprise: Strategies to Revive Hebron's Economy".
  5. ^ https://molg.pna.ps/uploads/files/Hebron%20Urban%20Area%20Factsheet_sj_2cd2433c7a70461fb7ecf3c2ef2058a9.pdf [bare URL PDF]
  6. ^ Medieval Islamic Civilization: A-K, index by Josef W. Meri; p. 318; "Hebron(Khalil al-Rahman"
  7. ^ Kamrava 2010, p. 236.
  8. ^ Alimi 2013, p. 178.
  9. ^ Rothrock 2011, p. 100.
  10. ^ Beilin 2004, p. 59.