Editing Hebron (section)

== History ==
{{see also|Timeline of Hebron}}

===Bronze and Iron Age===
Archaeological excavations reveal traces of strong fortifications dated to the Early [[Bronze Age]], covering some 24–30 [[dunam]]s centered around [[Tel Rumeida]]. The city flourished in the 17th–18th centuries BCE before being destroyed by fire, and was resettled in the late Middle Bronze Age.<ref>{{harvnb|Negev|Gibson|2001|pp=225–5<!--?range of pages-->}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Na'aman|2005|p=180}}</ref> This older Hebron was originally a [[Canaan]]ite royal city.<ref>{{harvnb|Towner|2001|pp=144–45}}: "[T]he city was a Canaanite royal center long before it became Israelite".</ref> [[Abraham|Abrahamic legend]] associates the city with the [[Biblical Hittites|Hittites]].{{Clarify|reason=The Hittite identity of Efron doesn't mean that the whole city is associated with the Hittites.|date=July 2023}} It has been conjectured that Hebron might have been the capital of [[Šuwardata|Shuwardata]] of [[Gath (city)|Gath]], an [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] contemporary of Jerusalem's regent, [[Abdi-Heba|Abdi-Ḫeba]],<ref>{{harvnb|Albright|2000|p=110}}</ref> although the Hebron hills were almost devoid of settlements in the Late Bronze Age.<ref>{{harvnb|Na'aman|2005|pp=77–78}}</ref> The [[Abrahamic religion|Abrahamic traditions]] associated with Hebron are nomadic. This may also reflect a [[Kenite]] element, since the nomadic Kenites are said to have long occupied the city,<ref>{{harvnb|Smith|1903|p=200}}.</ref> and ''Heber'' is the name for a Kenite clan.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraeling|1925|p=179}}.</ref> In the narrative of the later Hebrew conquest, Hebron was one of two centers under Canaanite control. They were ruled by the three sons of [[Anak]] (''b<sup>e</sup>nê/y<sup>e</sup>lîdê hāʿănaq'').<ref>{{harvnb|Na'aman|2005|p=361}} These non-Semitic names perhaps echo either a tradition of a group of elite professional troops (Philistines, Hittites), formed in Canaan whose ascendancy was overthrown by the West-Semitic clan of Caleb. They would have migrated from the Negev,</ref> or may reflect some Kenite and [[Kenizzite]] migration from the Negev to Hebron, since terms related to the Kenizzites appear to be close to [[Hurrian language|Hurrian]]. This suggests that behind the [[Anakim]] legend lies some early Hurrian population.<ref>{{cite book|author=Joseph Blenkinsopp|author-link=Joseph Blenkinsopp|title=Gibeon and Israel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uxg9AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA114|year=1972|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-08368-3|page=18}}</ref> In Biblical lore they are represented as descendants of the [[Nephilim]].<ref>[[Joshua]] 10:3, 5, 3–39; 12:10, 13. {{harvnb|Na'aman|2005|p=177}} doubts this tradition. "The book of Joshua is not a reliable source for either a historical or a territorial discussion of the Late Bronze Age, and its evidence must be disregarded".</ref> The [[Book of Genesis]] mentions that it was formerly called [[Kiryat Arba|Kirjath-arba]], or "city of four", possibly referring to the four pairs or couples who were buried there, or four tribes, or four quarters,<ref>{{harvnb|Mulder|2004|p=165}}</ref> four hills,<ref>{{harvnb|Alter|1996|p=108}}.</ref> or a confederated settlement of four families.<ref>{{harvnb|Hamilton|1995|p=126}}.</ref>

The story of Abraham's purchase of the [[Cave of the Patriarchs]] from the [[Biblical Hittites|Hittites]] constitutes a seminal element in what was to become the Jewish attachment to the land<ref>{{harvnb|Finkelstein|Silberman|2001|p=45}}.</ref> in that it signified the first "real estate" of Israel long before the conquest under Joshua.<ref>{{harvnb|Lied|2008|pp=154–62, 162}}</ref> In settling here, Abraham is described as making his first [[wiktionary:covenant|covenant]], an alliance with two local [[Amorite]] clans who became his ''ba'alei brit'' or ''masters of the covenant''.<ref>{{harvnb|Elazar|1998|p=128}}: ([[Book of Genesis|Genesis]].ch. 23)</ref>[[File:Hebron136.JPG|thumb|Excavations at [[Tel Rumeida]]|left]]
[[File:Samson Fenster aus Alpirsbach.jpg|thumb|[[Samson]] removes gates of Gaza (left) and brings them to Mount Hebron (right). Strassburg (1160–1170), [[Landesmuseum Württemberg|Württemberg State Museum]] in Stuttgart|left|220x220px]]The Hebron of the Israelites was centered on what is now known as Tel Rumeida, while its ritual center was located at [[Mamre|Elonei Mamre]].<ref>{{harvnb|Magen|2007|p=185}}.</ref> Hebrew Bible narrative also describes the city.

It is said to have been wrested from the Canaanites by either [[Joshua]], who is said to have wiped out all of its previous inhabitants, "destroying everything that drew breath, as the Lord God of Israel had commanded",<ref>{{harvnb|Glick|1994|p=46}}, citing {{bibleverse|Joshua|10:36–42}} and the influence this has had on certain settlers in the West Bank.</ref> or the [[Tribe of Judah]] as a whole, or specifically [[Caleb]] the Judahite.<ref>{{harvnb|Gottwald|1999|p=153}}: "certain conquests claimed for Joshua are elsewhere attributed to single tribes or clans, for example, in the case of Hebron (in {{bibleverse|Joshua|10:36–37}}, Hebron's capture is attributed to Joshua; in {{bibleverse|Judges|1:10}} to Judah; in Judges 1:20 and Joshua 14:13–14; 15:13–14" to Caleb.</ref> The town itself, with some contiguous pasture land, is then said to have been granted to the [[Levites]] of the clan of [[Kohathites|Kohath]], while the fields of the city, as well as its surrounding villages were assigned to Caleb ({{bibleverse|Joshua 21:3–12; 1 Chronicles 6:54–56|multi=yes}}),<ref>{{harvnb|Bratcher|Newman|1983|p=262}}.</ref> who expels the three giants, [[Sheshai]], [[Ahiman]], and [[Talmai]], who ruled the city. Later, the biblical narrative has [[King David]] called by God to relocate to Hebron and reign from there for some seven years ({{bibleverse|2 Samuel|2:1–3}}).<ref name="FritzDavies19962">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=etRoNida3RgC|title=The Origins of the Ancient Israelite States|author=Schafer-Lichtenberger|date=September 1, 1996|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|others=Philip R. Davies|isbn=978-0-567-60296-1|editor=Volkmar Fritz|chapter=Sociological views}}</ref> It is there that the elders of Israel come to him to make a covenant before Elohim and anoint him [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|king of Israel]].<ref>{{harvnb|Gottwald|1999|p=173}}, citing {{bibleverse|2 Samuel, 5:3|multi=yes}}.</ref> It was in Hebron again that [[Absalom]] has himself declared king and then raises a revolt against his father David ({{bibleverse|2 Samuel|15:7–10}}). It became one of the principal centers of the Tribe of Judah and was classified as one of the six traditional [[Cities of Refuge]].<ref>{{harvnb|Japhet|1993|p=148}}. See {{bibleverse|Joshua 20, 1–7|multi=yes}}.</ref>

As is shown by the discovery at [[Lachish]], the second most important city in the [[Kingdom of Judah]] after Jerusalem,<ref>{{harvnb|Hasson|2016}}</ref> of seals with the inscription [[LMLK seal|''lmlk Hebron'']] (to the king Hebron),<ref name="Sharon 2007 104"/> Hebron continued to constitute an important local economic center, given its strategic position on the crossroads between the [[Dead Sea]] to the east, Jerusalem to the north, the Negev and Egypt to the south, and the [[Shfela|Shepelah]] and the [[Israeli coastal plain|coastal plain]] to the west.<ref>{{harvnb|Jericke|2003|p=17}}</ref> Lying along [[Way of the Patriarchs|trading routes]], it remained administratively and politically dependent on Jerusalem for this period.<ref>{{harvnb|Jericke|2003|pp=26ff., 31}}.</ref>

===Classic antiquity===
After the destruction of the [[First Temple]], most of the Jewish inhabitants of Hebron were exiled, and according to the conventional view,<ref>{{harvnb|Carter|1999|pp=96–99}} Carter challenges this view on the grounds that it has no archeological support.</ref> some researchers found traces of [[Edom]]ite presence after the 5th–4th centuries BCE, as the area became [[Achaemenid Empire|Achaemenid province]],<ref>{{harvnb|Lemaire|2006|p=419}}</ref> and, in the wake of [[Alexander the Great]]'s conquest, Hebron was throughout the [[Hellenistic period]] under the influence of Idumea (as the new area inhabited by the Edomites was called during the [[Yehud medinata|Persian]], [[History of ancient Israel and Judah#Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] and [[Judea (Roman province)#Judea as Roman province(s)|Roman]] periods), as is attested by inscriptions for that period bearing names with the Edomite God [[Qaus|Qōs]].<ref>{{harvnb|Jericke|2003|p=19}}.</ref> Jews also appear to have lived there after the return from the [[Babylonian exile]] ({{bibleverse|Nehemiah|11:25}}). During the [[Maccabean revolt]], Hebron was burnt and plundered by [[Judas Maccabeus|Judah Maccabee]] who fought against the Edomites in 167 BCE.<ref>{{harvnb|Josephus|1860|p=334}} [[Josephus Flavius]], ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', Bk. 12, ch.8, para.6.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Duke|2010|pp=93–94}} is sceptical.'This should be considered a raid on Hebron instead of a conquest based on subsequent events in the book of I Maccabees.'</ref> The city appears to have long resisted [[Hasmoneans|Hasmonean dominance]], however, and indeed as late as the [[First Jewish–Roman War]] was still considered [[Idumean]].<ref>{{harvnb|Duke|2010|p=94}}</ref>

[[File:Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron 2007.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.15|[[Cave of the Patriarchs]]]]The present day city of Hebron was settled in the valley downhill from Tel Rumeida at the latest by Roman times.<ref>{{harvnb|Jericke|2003|p=17}}:'Spätestens in römischer Zeit ist die Ansiedlung im Tal beim heutigen Stadtzentrum zu finden'.</ref> [[Herod the Great]], king of Judea, built the wall that still surrounds the [[Cave of the Patriarchs]]. During the [[First Jewish–Roman War]], Hebron was captured and plundered by [[Simon Bar Giora]], a leader of the [[Zealots]], without bloodshed. The "little town" was later laid to waste by [[Vespasian]]'s officer [[Sextus Vettulenus Cerialis]].<ref>{{harvnb|Josephus|1860|p=701}} Josephus, ''[[The Jewish War]]'', Bk 4, ch. 9, p. 9.</ref> [[Josephus]] wrote that he "slew all he found there, young and old, and burnt down the town". After the suppression of the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] in 135 CE, innumerable Jewish captives were sold into slavery at Hebron's [[Mamre|Terebinth]] slave-market.<ref>{{harvnb|Schürer|Millar|Vermes|1973|p=553 n.178}} citing [[Jerome]], ''in Zachariam'' 11:5; ''in Hieremiam'' 6:18; ''Chronicon paschale.''</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Hezser|2002|p=96}}.</ref>

The city was part of the [[Byzantine Empire]] in [[Palaestina Prima]] province at the [[Diocese of the East]]. The Byzantine emperor [[Justinian I]] erected a Christian church over the Cave of Machpelah in the 6th century CE, which was later destroyed by the [[Sassanid]] general [[Shahrbaraz]] in 614 when [[Khosrau II]]'s armies besieged and took Jerusalem.<ref>{{harvnb|Norwich|1999|p=285}}<!-- check Peng ed  p. 285 (1988)--></ref> Jews were not permitted to reside in Hebron under Byzantine rule.<ref name="Scharfstein 124">{{harvnb|Scharfstein|1994|p=124}}.</ref> The sanctuary itself however was spared by the Persians, in deference to the Jewish population, who were numerous in the [[Byzantine–Sassanid War of 602–628|Sassanid army]].<ref name="Salaville 1910 185">{{harvnb|Salaville|1910|p=185}}</ref>

===Muslim conquest and Islamic caliphate===
Hebron was one of the last cities of Palestine to fall to the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Islamic invasion in the 7th century]], possibly the reason why Hebron is not mentioned in any traditions of the Arab conquest.<ref>{{harvnb|Gil|1997|pp=56–57}} cites the late testimony of two monks, Eudes and Arnoul CE 1119–1120:'When they (the Muslims) came to Hebron they were amazed to see the strong and handsome structures of the walls and they could not find an opening through which to enter, then the Jews happened to come, who lived in the area under the former rule of the Greeks (that is the Byzantines), and they said to the Muslims: give us (a letter of security) that we may continue to live (in our places) under your rule (literally-amongst you) and permit us to build a synagogue in front of the entrance (to the city). If you will do this, we shall show you where you can break in. And it was so'.</ref> When the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] established its rule over Hebron in 638, the Muslims converted the Byzantine church at the site of Abraham's tomb into a mosque.<ref name="Scharfstein 124"/> It became an important station on the caravan trading route from Egypt, and also as a way-station for pilgrims making the yearly hajj from Damascus.<ref>{{harvnb|Büssow|2011|p=195}}</ref> After the fall of the city, Jerusalem's conqueror, Caliph [[Umar|Omar ibn al-Khattab]] permitted Jewish people to return and to construct a small synagog within the Herodian precinct.<ref>{{harvnb|Hiro|1999|p=166}}.</ref>

Catholic bishop [[Arculf]], who visited the Holy Land during the [[Umayyad Chaliphate|Umayyad period]], described the city as unfortified and poor. In his writings he also mentioned camel caravans transporting firewood from Hebron to Jerusalem, which implies there was a presence of Arab nomads in the region at that time.<ref>Frenkel, 2011, p. 28–29</ref> Trade greatly expanded, in particular with [[Bedouin]]s in the [[Negev]] (''al-Naqab'') and the population to the east of the [[Dead Sea]] (''Baḥr Lūṭ''). According to Anton Kisa, Jews from Hebron (and [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]) founded the [[Venetian glass]] industry in the 9th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Forbes|1965|p=155}}, citing Anton Kisa et al., ''Das Glas im Altertum'', 1908.</ref>

Hebron was almost absent from Muslim literature before the 10th century.<ref>{{harvnb|Gil|1997|pp=205}}</ref> In 985, [[al-Muqaddasi]] described Hebron (Habra) as the village of Abraham al-Khalil, with a strong fortress and a stone dome over Abraham's sepulchre.<ref name=":6">{{harvnb|Al-Muqaddasi|2001|pp=156–57}}. For an older translation see {{harvnb|Le Strange|1890|pp=[[commons:File:Strange.309.jpg|309]]–[[commons:File:Strange.310.jpg|10]]}}</ref> The mosque contained the tombs of Isaac, Jacob, and their wives.<ref name=":6" /> Surrounding the area were villages with vineyards producing exceptional grapes and apples.<ref name=":6" /> Hebron had a public guest house offering lentils and olive oil to both the poor and the rich.<ref name=":6" /> The guest house was established through the bequest of Prophet Muhammad's companions, including Tamim-al Dari, and received generous donations.<ref name=":6" /> It was highly regarded as an excellent house of hospitality and charity in the realm of al-Islam.<ref name=":6" /> The custom, known as the 'Table of Abraham' (''simāt al-khalil''), was similar to the one established by the [[Fatimid]]s.<ref name=":7">{{harvnb|Le Strange|1890|p=[[commons:File:Strange.315.jpg|315]]}}</ref> In 1047, [[Nasir Khusraw|Nasir-i-Khusraw]] described Hebron in his [[Safarnama]] as having many villages providing revenues for pious purposes.<ref name=":8">{{harvnb|Singer|2002|p=148}}.</ref><ref name=":7" /> He mentioned a spring flowing from under a stone, with water channeled to a covered tank outside the town.<ref name=":7" /> The Sanctuary stood on the town's southern border, enclosed by four walls.<ref name=":8" /> Barley was the primary crop, with abundant olives.<ref name=":8" /> Visitors were provided with bread, olives, lentils cooked in olive oil, and raisins.<ref name=":8" /> Hebron had numerous mills operated by oxen and mules, along with working girls baking bread.<ref name=":8" /> The hospitality extended to about three-pound loaves of bread and meals for every arriving person, including up to 500 pilgrims on certain days.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" />

The tradition survives to this day in the form of the Takiat Ibrahim soup kitchen, which has been active in providing food for thousands over Ramadan, which coincided with food shortages during the 2024 [[Gaza war]].{{sfn|Zbeedat|2024}} [[Cairo Geniza|Geniza]] documents from this period mention  "the graves of the patriarchs" and attest to the presence of an organized Jewish community in Hebron. The Jews maintained a synagog near the tomb and earned their livelihood accommodating Jewish pilgrims and merchants. During the [[Great Seljuq Empire|Seljuk period]], the community was headed by Saadia b. Abraham b. Nathan, known as the "''haver'' of the graves of the patriarchs."<ref>{{harvnb|Gil|1997|p=206}}</ref>

===Crusader and Ayyubid period===
{{see also|Vassals of the Kingdom of Jerusalem}}
The [[Caliphate]] lasted in the area until 1099, when the Christian [[Crusade]]r [[Godfrey de Bouillon]] took Hebron and renamed it "Castellion Saint Abraham".<ref>{{harvnb|Robinson|Smith|1856|p=78}}:"'The Castle of St. Abraham' was the generic Crusader name for Hebron."</ref> It was designated capital of the southern district of the Crusader [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]]<ref>Avraham Lewensohn. ''Israel tourguide'', 1979. p. 222.</ref> and given, in turn,<ref>{{harvnb|Murray|2000|p=107}}</ref> as the fief of Saint Abraham, to [[Geldemar Carpenel|Geldemar Carpinel]], the bishop Gerard of Avesnes,<ref>{{harvnb|Runciman|1965a|p=307}} Runciman also (pp. 307–08) notes that Gerard of Avesnes was a knight from [[County of Hainaut|Hainault]] held hostage at [[Arsuf]], north of [[Jaffa]], who had been wounded by Godfrey's own forces during the siege of the port, and later returned by the Muslims to Godfrey as a token of good will.</ref> Hugh of Rebecques, Walter Mohamet and Baldwin of Saint Abraham. As a [[Franks|Frankish]] garrison of the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]], its defense was precarious being 'little more than an island in a Moslem ocean'.<ref>{{harvnb|Runciman|1965b|p=4}}</ref> The Crusaders converted the [[mosque]] and the [[synagog]] into a church. In 1106, an Egyptian campaign thrust into southern Palestine and almost succeeded the following year in wresting Hebron back from the Crusaders under [[Baldwin I of Jerusalem]], who personally led the counter-charge to beat the Muslim forces off. In the year 1113 during the reign of [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem]], according to [[Ali ibn abi bakr al-Harawi|Ali of Herat]] (writing in 1173), a certain part over the cave of Abraham had given way, and "a number of Franks had made their entrance therein". And they discovered "(the bodies) of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob", "their shrouds having fallen to pieces, lying propped up against a wall...Then the King, after providing new shrouds, caused the place to be closed once more". Similar information is given in [[Ali ibn al-Athir|Ibn at Athir]]'s Chronicle under the year 1119; "In this year was opened the tomb of Abraham, and those of his two sons Isaac and Jacob ...Many people saw the Patriarch. Their limbs had nowise been [[Disturbance (archaeology)|disturbed]], and beside them were placed lamps of gold and of silver."<ref>{{harvnb|Le Strange|1890|pp=[[commons:File:Strange.317.jpg|317]]–[[commons:File:Strange.318.jpg|18]]}}</ref> The [[Damascus|Damascene]] nobleman and historian [[Ibn al-Qalanisi]] in his chronicle also alludes at this time to the discovery of [[relics]] purported to be those of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, a discovery that excited eager curiosity among all three communities in Palestine, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian.<ref>{{harvnb|Kohler|1896|pp=447ff.}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Runciman|1965b|p=319}}.</ref> Towards the end of the period of Crusader rule, in 1166 [[Maimonides]] visited Hebron and wrote,<blockquote>On Sunday, 9 Marheshvan (October 17), I left Jerusalem for Hebron to kiss the tombs of my ancestors in the Cave. On that day, I stood in the cave and prayed, praise be to God, (in gratitude) for everything.<ref>{{harvnb|Kraemer|2001|p=422}}.</ref></blockquote>

A royal domain, Hebron was handed over to [[Philip of Milly]] in 1161 and joined with the [[Oultrejordain|Seigneurie of Transjordan]]. A bishop was appointed to Hebron in 1168 and the new cathedral church of St Abraham was built in the southern part of the Haram.<ref>{{harvnb|Boas|1999|p=52}}.</ref> In 1167, the [[Hebron (titular see)|episcopal see of Hebron]] was created along with that of [[Kerak]] and [[Sebastia, Nablus|Sebastia]] (the tomb of [[John the Baptist]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Richard|1999|p=112}}.</ref> In 1170, [[Benjamin of Tudela]] visited Hebron, referred to as in its Frankish name ''St. Abram de Bron''.<ref name=":9">{{harvnb|Benjamin|1907|p=25}}.</ref> He mentioned the great church called St. Abram, which was once a Jewish place of worship during the time of Muslim rule.<ref name=":9" /> The Gentiles had erected six tombs there, claimed to be those of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah.<ref name=":9" /> The custodians collected money from pilgrims by presenting these tombs as the tombs of the Patriarchs.<ref name=":9" /> However, if a Jew offered a special reward, they would open an iron gate leading to a series of empty caves, until reaching the third cave where the actual sepulchers of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs were said to be located.<ref name=":9" />

The Kurdish Muslim [[Saladin]] retook Hebron in 1187 – again with Jewish assistance according to one late tradition, in exchange for a letter of security allowing them to return to the city and build a synagog there.<ref>{{harvnb|Gil|1997|p=207}}. Note to editors. This account, always in Moshe Gil, refers to two distinct events, the Arab conquest from Byzantium, and the Kurdish-Arab conquest from Crusaders. In both the manuscript is a monkish chronicle, and the words used, and event described is identical. We may have a secondary source confusion here.</ref> The name of the city was changed back to ''Al-Khalil''. A [[Kurd]]ish quarter still existed in the town during the early period of [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharon|2003|p=297}}.</ref> [[Richard I of England|Richard the Lionheart]] retook the city soon after. [[Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall|Richard of Cornwall]], brought from England to settle the dangerous feuding between [[Knights Templar|Templars]] and [[Knights Hospitaller|Hospitallers]], whose rivalry imperiled the treaty guaranteeing regional stability stipulated with the Egyptian [[Sultan]] [[As-Salih Ayyub]], managed to impose peace on the area. But soon after his departure, feuding broke out and in 1241 the Templars mounted a damaging raid on what was, by now, Muslim Hebron, in violation of agreements.<ref>{{harvnb|Runciman|1965c|p=219}}</ref>

In 1244, the [[Khwarazmian dynasty#Mercenaries|Khwarazmians]] destroyed the town, but left the sanctuary untouched.<ref name="Salaville 1910 185"/>

===Mamluk period===
In 1260, after [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]] [[Sultan]] [[Baibars]] defeated the Mongol army, the [[minaret]]s were built onto the sanctuary. Six years later, while on pilgrimage to Hebron, Baibars promulgated an edict forbidding Christians and Jews from entering the sanctuary,<ref>{{harvnb|Micheau|2006|p=402}}</ref> and the climate became less tolerant of Jews and Christians than it had been under the prior [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] rule. The edict for the exclusion of Christians and Jews was not strictly enforced until the middle of the 14th-century and by 1490, not even Muslims were permitted to enter the caverns.<ref>{{harvnb|Murphy-O'Connor|1998|p=274}}.</ref> The mill at [[Artas, Bethlehem|Artas]] was built in 1307, and the profits from its income were dedicated to the hospital in Hebron.<ref>{{harvnb|Sharon|1997|pp=117–18}}.</ref> Between 1318 and 1320, the [[Na'ib]] of [[Gaza City|Gaza]] and much of coastal and interior Palestine ordered the construction of [[al-Jawali Mosque|Jawli Mosque]] to enlarge the prayer space for worshipers at the Ibrahimi Mosque.<ref>Dandis, Wala. [https://www.scribd.com/doc/71913073/History-of-Hebron History of Hebron]. November 7, 2011. Retrieved on 2012-03-02.</ref>

Hebron was visited by important rabbis over the next two centuries, among them [[Nachmanides]] (1270) and [[Ishtori Haparchi|Ishtori HaParchi]] (1322) who noted the [[Old Jewish cemetery, Hebron|old Jewish cemetery]] there. [[Sunni]] [[imam]] [[Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyya]] (1292–1350) was penalized by the religious authorities in Damascus for refusing to recognize Hebron as a Muslim pilgrimage site, a view also held by his teacher [[Ibn Taymiyyah]].<ref>{{harvnb|Meri|2004|pp=362–63}}.</ref> The Jewish-Italian traveler, [[Meshullam of Volterra]] (1481) found not more than twenty Jewish families living in Hebron.<ref>{{harvnb|Kosover|1966|p=5}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|David|2010|p=24}}.</ref> and recounted how the Jewish women of Hebron would disguise themselves with a veil in order to pass as Muslim women and enter the Cave of the Patriarchs without being recognized as Jews.<ref>{{harvnb|Lamdan|2000|p=102}}.</ref> Minute descriptions of Hebron were recorded in Stephen von Gumpenberg's Journal (1449), by [[Felix Fabri]] (1483) and by [[Mejr ed-Din]]<ref>{{harvnb|Robinson|Smith|1856|pp=440–42, n.1}}.</ref> It was in this period, also, that the [[Mamluk]] Sultan [[Qaitbay|Qa'it Bay]] revived the old custom of the Hebron "table of Abraham", and exported it as a model for his own ''[[madrasa]]'' in [[Medina]].<ref>{{harvnb|Singer|2002|p=148}}</ref> This became an immense charitable establishment near the [[Haram]], distributing daily some 1,200 loaves of bread to travelers of all faiths.<ref>{{harvnb|Robinson|Smith|1856|p=458}}.</ref> The Italian rabbi [[Obadiah ben Abraham Bartenura]] wrote around 1490:<blockquote>I was in the Cave of Machpelah, over which the mosque has been built; and the Arabs hold the place in high honour. All the Kings of the Arabs come here to repeat their prayers, but neither a Jew nor an Arab may enter the Cave itself, where the real graves of the Patriarchs are; the Arabs remain above, and let down burning torches into it through a window, for they keep a light always burning there. . Bread and lentil, or some other kind of pulse (seeds of peas or beans), is distributed (by the Muslims) to the poor every day without distinction of faith, and this is done in honour of Abraham.<ref>{{harvnb|Berger|2012|p=246.}}.</ref></blockquote>

===Early Ottoman period===
[[File:The town of Hebron. Coloured lithograph by Louis Haghe after Wellcome V0049466.jpg|thumb|right|Hebron in 1839, after a drawing by [[David Roberts (painter)|David Roberts]], in ''[[The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt, and Nubia]]'']]

The expansion of the [[Ottoman Empire]] along the southern Mediterranean coast under sultan [[Selim I]] coincided with the establishment of [[Spanish Inquisition|Inquisition]] commissions by the [[Catholic Monarchs]] in Spain in 1478, which ended centuries of the Iberian ''convivencia'' (coexistence). The ensuing [[Alhambra Decree|expulsions of the Jews]] drove many [[Sephardi Jews]] into the Ottoman provinces, and a slow influx of Jews to the Holy Land took place, with  notable Sephardi [[Kabbalah|kabbalists]] settling in Hebron.{{sfn|Green|2007|pp=xv–xix}} Over the following two centuries, there was a significant migration of Bedouin tribal groups from the Arabian Peninsula into Palestine. Many settled in three separate villages in the Wādī al-Khalīl, and their descendants later formed the majority of Hebron.<ref name="Büssow 2011 195">{{harvnb|Büssow|2011|p=195}}.</ref>

The Jewish community fluctuated between 8–10 families throughout the 16th century, and suffered from severe financial straits in the first half of the century.<ref>{{harvnb|David|2010|p=24}}. ''Tahrir'' registers document 20 households in 1538/9, 8 in 1553/4, 11 in 1562 and 1596/7. Gil however suggests the ''tahrir'' records of the Jewish population may be understated.</ref> In 1540, renowned [[kabbalist]] [[Malkiel Ashkenazi]] bought a courtyard from the small [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite]] community, in which he established the Sephardic [[Abraham Avinu Synagogue]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|p=397}}</ref> In 1659, Abraham Pereyra of Amsterdam founded the ''Hesed Le'Abraham [[yeshiva]]'' in Hebron, which attracted many students.<ref>{{harvnb|Perera|1996|p=104}}.</ref> In the early 18th century, the Jewish community suffered from heavy debts, almost quadrupling from 1717 to 1729,<ref>{{harvnb|Barnay|1992|pp=89–90}} gives the figures of 12,000 quadrupling to 46,000 [[Kuruş]].</ref> and were "almost crushed" from the extortion practiced by the Turkish pashas. In 1773 or 1775, a substantial amount of money was extorted from the Jewish community after a false allegation that the son of a local [[sheikh]] was murdered  and thrown into a cesspit.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}> [[Meshulach|Emissaries]] from the community were frequently sent overseas to [[Halukka|solicit funds]].<ref>{{harvnb|Marcus|1996|p=85}}. In 1770, they received financial assistance from North American Jews, which amounted in excess of £100.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Van Luit|2009|p=42}}. In 1803, the rabbis and elders of the Jewish community were imprisoned after failing to pay their debts. In 1807, the community did succeed in purchasing a 5-[[dunam]] (5,000 m<sup>2</sup>) plot where Hebron's wholesale market stands today.</ref> During the Ottoman period, the dilapidated patriarchs' tombs were restored to a semblance of  dignity.<ref>{{harvnb|Conder|1830|p=198}}.</ref> [[Ali Bey el Abbassi|Ali Bey]], in Muslim disguise, was one of the few Westerners to gain access.  In 1807 he reported that the sepulchres were covered with carpets of green silk embroidered in gold and those of the wives were covered in red silk.The sultans of Constantinople furnished these carpets, which were renewed from time to time. Ali Bey counted nine, one over the other, on the sepulchre of Abraham.<ref>{{harvnb|Conder|1830|p=198}}. The source was a manuscript, ''The Travels of Ali Bey'', vol. ii, pp. 232–33.</ref> Hebron also became known  for its glass production, based on Bedouin trade networks that brought up minerals from the Dead Sea. The industry is mentioned in travel literature in 19th century written by [[Western culture|Western]] travelers to Palestine. [[Ulrich Jasper Seetzen]] noted during his travels in Palestine in 1808–09 that 150 persons were employed in the glass industry in Hebron,<ref>{{harvnb|Schölch|1993|p=161}}.</ref> based on 26 [[kiln]]s.<ref>{{harvnb|Büssow|2011|p=198}}</ref> In 1833, a report on the town  in the weekly paper of the London-based [[Religious Tract Society]] wrote that Hebron had numerous well-provisioned shops and  produced glass lamps which were exported to [[Egypt]].<ref>{{harvnb|WV|1833|p=436}}.</ref> Early 19th-century travelers also noted Hebron's flourishing agriculture. It was a major exporter of ''dibse'', grape sugar,<ref>{{harvnb|Shaw|1808|p=144}}</ref> from the famous Dabookeh grapestock characteristic of Hebron.<ref>{{harvnb|Finn|1868|p=39}}.</ref>
[[File:Frith, Francis (1822-1898) - Views in the Holy Land - n. 428 - Hebron. Northern Half of the City - recto.jpg|thumb|Northern Hebron in the mid-19th century (1850s)]]

An [[1834 Arab revolt in Palestine|Arab peasants' revolt]] broke out in April 1834 when [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] announced he would recruit troops from the local Muslim population.<ref>{{harvnb|Krämer|2011|p=68}}</ref> Hebron, headed by its [[nāẓir|nazir]] Abd ar-Rahman Amr, declined to supply its quota of conscripts for the army and suffered badly from the Egyptian campaign to crush the uprising. The town was invested and, when its defenses fell on August 4, it was sacked by Ibrahim Pasha's army.<ref>{{harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|pp=6–11, esp. p. 8}}</ref><ref name="Robinson 88">{{harvnb|Robinson|Smith|1856|p=88}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|p=403}}.</ref> An estimated 500 Muslims from Hebron were killed in the attack and some 750 were conscripted. 120 youths were abducted and put at the disposal of Egyptian army officers. Most of the Muslim population managed to flee beforehand to the hills. Many Jews fled to Jerusalem, but during the general pillage of the town [[1834 Hebron massacre|at least five were killed]].<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|pp=398–99}}.</ref>
In 1838, the total population was estimated at 10,000.<ref name="Robinson 88"/> When the government of Ibrahim Pasha fell in 1841, the local clan leader Abd ar-Rahman Amr once again resumed the reins of power as the Sheik of Hebron. Due to his extortionate demands for cash from the local population, most of the Jewish population fled to Jerusalem.<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|pp=398–400}}</ref> In 1846, the Ottoman Governor-in-chief of Jerusalem (''serasker''), [[Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha]], waged a campaign to subdue rebellious sheiks in the Hebron area, and while doing so, allowed his troops to sack the town. Though it was widely rumored that he secretly protected Abd ar-Rahman,<ref>{{harvnb|Finn|1878|pp=287ff}}.</ref> the latter was deported together with other local leaders (such as Muslih al-'Azza of [[Bayt Jibrin]]), but he managed to return to the area in 1848.<ref>{{harvnb|Schölch|1993|pp=234–35}}.</ref>

According to Hillel Cohen, the attacks on Jews in this particular period are an exception that proves the rule, that one of the easiest place for Jews to live in the world were in the various countries of the Ottoman Empire. In the mid-eighteenth century, [[Abraham Gershon of Kitov|rabbi Abraham Gershon]] of [[Kuty|Kitov]] wrote from Hebron that:"the gentiles here very much love the Jews. When there is a ''brit milah'' (circumcision ceremony) or any other celebration, their most important men come at night and rejoice with the Jews and clap hands and dance with the Jews, just like the Jews'."{{sfn|Cohen|2015|p=15}}

===Late Ottoman period===
[[File:Hebron glass finished products - Joff Williams.jpg|thumb|upright|A display of [[Hebron glass]]]]

By 1850, the Jewish population consisted of 45–60 Sephardic families, some 40 born in the town, and a 30-year-old Ashkenazic community of 50 families, mainly Polish and Russian,<ref>{{harvnb|Schwarz|1850|p=401}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|1847|pp=355–381, 372}}:The rabbi of the Ashkenazi community, who said they numbered 60 mainly Polish and Russian emigrants, professed no knowledge of the Sephardim in Hebron (p. 377).</ref> the [[Chabad|Lubavitch Hasidic]] movement having established a community in 1823.<ref>{{harvnb|Sicker|1999|p=6}}.</ref> The ascendency of Ibrahim Pasha led to a decline in the local glass industry. His plan to build a Mediterranean fleet led to severe logging in Hebron's forests, making firewood for the kilns  scarce. At the same time, Egypt began importing cheap European glass. The rerouting of the hajj from Damascus through Transjordan reduced traffic to Hebron, and the [[Suez canal|Suez Canal]] (1869) precipitated a drop in caravan trade. The consequence was a steady deterioration of the local economy.<ref>{{harvnb|Büssow|2011|pp=198–99}}.</ref> At the time, the town was divided into four quarters: the Ancient Quarter (''Harat al-Kadim'') near the Cave of Machpelah; to its south, the Quarter of the Silk Merchant (''Harat al-Kazaz''), inhabited by Jews; the Mamluk-era Sheikh's Quarter (''Harat ash Sheikh'') to the north-west; and further north, the Dense Quarter (''Harat al-Harbah'').<ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|1847|p=379}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Wilson|1881|p=195}} mentions a different set of names, the Quarter of the Cloister Gate (''Harat Bab ez Zawiyeh'');the Quarter of the Sanctuary (''Haret el Haram''), to the south-east.</ref>[[File:Jewish ghetto in hebron, 1921.jpg|thumb|Jews in Hebron, 1921|left|284x284px]]In 1855, the newly appointed Ottoman ''[[pasha]]'' ("governor") of the ''[[sanjak]]'' ("district") of Jerusalem, [[Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha|Kamil Pasha]], attempted to put down a  rebellion in the Hebron region. Kamil and his army marched towards Hebron in July 1855, a scene witnessed by representatives of the English, French and other Western consulates. After crushing all opposition, Kamil appointed Salama Amr, brother and rival of Abd al Rachman, as ''[[nāẓir|nazir]]'' of the Hebron region. Relative quiet reigned in the town for the next 4 years.<ref>{{harvnb|Schölch|1993|pp=236–37}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Finn|1878|pp=305–308}}.</ref> In 1866, Hungarian Jews of the [[Karlin (Hasidic Dynasty)|Karlin Hasidic court]] settled in Hebron.<ref name="Shragai 2008">{{harvnb|Shragai|2008}}.</ref> According to [[Nadav Shragai]], Arab-Jewish relations were good, and Alter Rivlin, who spoke Arabic and Syrian-Aramaic, was appointed Jewish representative to the city council.<ref name="Shragai 2008" /> During a  severe drought in 1869–1871,  food in Hebron sold for ten times the normal amount.<ref>Isaac Samuel Emmanuel, Suzanne A. Emmanuel. [https://books.google.com/books?id=e7xrAAAAMAAJ ''History of the Jews of the Netherlands Antilles'', Volume 2]. American Jewish Archives. 1970. p. 754: "Between 1869 and 1871 Hebron was plagued with a severe drought. Food was so scarce that the little available sold for ten times the normal value. Although the rains came in 1871, there was no easing of the famine, for the farmers had no seed to sow. The [Jewish] community was obliged to borrow money from non-Jews at exorbitant interest rates in order to buy wheat for their fold. Their leaders finally decided to send their eminent Chief Rabbi Eliau [Soliman] Mani to Egypt to obtain relief."</ref> From 1874, the Hebron district  was administered directly from [[Istanbul]] as part of the Sanjak of Jerusalem.<ref>{{harvnb|Khalidi|1998|p=218}}.</ref> By 1874, when [[C. R. Conder|C.R. Conder]] visited  Hebron under the auspices of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]], the Jewish community numbered  600 in an overall population of 17,000.<ref name="ConderCR1879">{{harvnb|Conder|1879|p=[https://archive.org/stream/tentworkinpalest02conduoft#page/79/mode/1up 79]}}</ref> The Jews lived in the Quarter of the Corner Gate.<ref name="ConderCR1879" /> In the late 19th century the production of [[Hebron glass]] declined due to competition from imported European glassware, although it continued to be popular among those who could not afford luxury goods  and was sold by Jewish merchants.<ref>{{harvnb|Schölch|1993|pp=161–62}} quoting David Delpuget ''Les Juifs d'Alexandrie, de Jaffa et de Jérusalem en 1865'', Bordeaux, 1866, p. 26.</ref> Glass ornaments from Hebron were exhibited at the [[Weltausstellung 1873 Wien|World Fair of 1873 in Vienna]].

A report from the [[Consulate General of France, Jerusalem|consul]] of the [[Consulate General of France, Jerusalem|French Consulate in Jerusalem]] in 1886 suggests that glass-making remained an important source of income for Hebron, with four factories earning 60,000 francs yearly.<ref>{{harvnb|Schölch|1993|pp=161–62}}.</ref> While the economy of other cities in Palestine was based on solely on trade, the economy of Hebron was more diverse, including agriculture and livestock herding, along with glassware manufacturing and processing of hides. This was because the most fertile lands were situated within the city limits.<ref name="Taraki Giacaman">{{harvnb| Tarākī|2006|pp=12–14}}</ref> Even so, Hebron had an image of being  unproductive and  an "asylum for the poor and the spiritual".<ref name="Taraki Giacaman2">{{harvnb|Tarākī|2006|pp=12–14}}: "Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and well into the twentieth, Hebron was a peripheral, "borderline" community, attracting poor itinerant peasants and those with Sufi inclinations from its environs. The tradition of ''shorabat Sayyidna Ibrahim'', a soup kitchen surviving into the present day and supervised by the ''awqaf'', and that of the Sufi ''zawaya'' gave the city a reputation for being an asylum for the poor and the spiritual. (Ju'beh 2003).</ref> While the wealthy merchants of Nablus built fine mansions, housing in Hebron consisted of semi-peasant dwellings.<ref name="Taraki Giacaman" />

Hebron was described as 'deeply Bedouin and Islamic',<ref>{{harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|p=41}}</ref> and 'bleakly conservative' in its religious outlook,<ref>{{harvnb|Gorenberg|2007|p=145}}.</ref> with a strong tradition of hostility to Jews.<ref>{{harvnb|Laurens|1999|p=508}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Renan|1864|p=93}} remarked of the town that it was "one of the bulwarks of Semitic ideas, in their most austere form".</ref> It had a reputation for religious zeal in jealously protecting its sites from Jews and Christians, although  the Jewish and Christian communities seem to have been an integral part of  the local economy.<ref name="Büssow 2011 195"/> As income from commerce declined and tax revenues diminished significantly, the Ottoman government left Hebron to manage its own affairs for the most part, making it "one of the most autonomous regions in late Ottoman Palestine."<ref>{{harvnb|Büssow|2011|p=199}}.</ref> The Jewish community was under French protection until 1914. The Jewish presence itself was divided between the traditional Sephardi community, whose members spoke Arabic and adopted Arab dress, and the more recent influx of [[Ashkenazi Jews]]. They prayed in different synagogs, sent their children to different schools, lived in different quarters and did not intermarry. The community was largely Orthodox and anti-Zionist.<ref>{{harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|p=92}}.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Campos|2007|pp=55–56}}</ref>

===British Mandate===
[[File:British loyalty meeting in Hebron, 3 July 1940.jpg|thumb|British loyalty meeting in Hebron, July 1940]]

The British [[Occupied Enemy Territory Administration|occupied]] Hebron on December 8, 1917; governance transited to a [[Mandatory Palestine|mandate]] in 1920. Most of Hebron was owned by old Islamic charitable endowments (''[[waqf]]s''), with about 60% of all the land in and around Hebron belonging to the Tamīm al-Dārī waqf.<ref>{{harvnb|Kupferschmidt|1987|pp=110–11}}.</ref> In 1922, its population stood at 16,577, of which 16,074 (97%) were Muslim, 430 (2.5%) were Jewish and 73 (0.4%) were Christian.<ref>[[:File:J. B. Barron, ed. Palestine, Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine.djvu|J. B. Barron, ed. Palestine, Report and General Abstracts of the Census of 1922. Government of Palestine]], page 9</ref><ref name="CP7fYghBFQC 1936, p. 887">{{cite book|author=M. Th. Houtsma|title=E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7CP7fYghBFQC&pg=PA887|volume=4|year=1993|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-09790-2|page=887}}</ref> During the 1920s, Abd al-Ḥayy al-Khaṭīb was appointed Mufti of Hebron. Before his appointment, he had been a staunch opponent of [[Haj Amin al-Husseini|Haj Amin]], supported the Muslim National Associations and had good contacts with the Zionists.<ref>{{harvnb|Cohen|2008|p=64}}.</ref> Later, al-Khaṭīb became one of the few loyal followers of Haj Amin in Hebron.<ref>{{harvnb|Kupferschmidt|1987|p=82}}: "In any event, after his appointment, Abd al-Hayy al-Khatib not only played a prominent role in the disturbances of 1929, but, in general, appeared as one of the few loyal adherents of Hajj Amin in that town."</ref> During the late Ottoman period, a new ruling elite had emerged in Palestine. They later formed the core of the growing Arab nationalist movement in the early 20th century. During the Mandate period, delegates from Hebron constituted only 1 percent of the political leadership.<ref name="Tarākī 2006 12–14">{{harvnb| Tarākī|2006|pp=12–14}}.</ref> The Palestinian Arab decision to boycott the 1923 elections for a Legislative Council was made at the [[Palestine Arab Congress|fifth Palestinian Congress]], after it was reported by Murshid Shahin (an Arab pro-Zionist activist) that there was intense resistance in Hebron to the elections.<ref>{{harvnb|Cohen|2008|pp=19–20}}.</ref> Almost no house in Hebron remained undamaged when an [[1927 Jericho earthquake|earthquake struck Palestine]] on July 11, 1927.<ref>Ilan Ben Zion (April 27, 2015). [http://www.timesofisrael.com/eyeing-nepal-experts-warn-israel-is-unprepared-for-its-own-big-one/ "Eyeing Nepal, experts warn Israel is unprepared for its own Big One"]. ''[[The Times of Israel]]''.</ref>

The Cave of the Patriarchs continued to remain officially closed to non-Muslims, and reports that entry to the site had been relaxed in 1928 were denied by the [[Supreme Muslim Council]].<ref>{{harvnb|Kupferschmidt|1987|p=237}}</ref>

At this time following attempts by the [[Lithuania]]n government to draft yeshiva students into the army, the Lithuanian [[Hebron Yeshiva]] (Knesses Yisroel) relocated to Hebron, after consultations between Rabbi [[Nosson Tzvi Finkel (Slabodka)|Nosson Tzvi Finkel]], [[Yechezkel Sarna]] and [[Moshe Mordechai Epstein]].<ref>{{harvnb|Wein|1993|pp=138–39}},</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Bauman|1994|p=22}}</ref> and by 1929 had attracted some 265 students from Europe and the United States.<ref>{{harvnb|Krämer|2011|p=232}}.</ref> The majority of the Jewish population lived on the outskirts of Hebron along the roads to Be'ersheba and Jerusalem, renting homes owned by Arabs, a number of which were built for the express purpose of housing Jewish tenants, with a few dozen within the city around the synagogs.<ref>{{harvnb|Segev|2001|p=318}}.</ref> During the [[1929 Hebron massacre]], Arab rioters slaughtered some 64 to 67 Jewish men, women and children<ref>{{harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|p=92}}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=NyopAQAAMAAJ Post-holocaust and anti-semitism – Issues 40–75 – Page 35] Merkaz ha-Yerushalmi le-ʻinyene tsibur u-medinah, Temple University. Center for Jewish Community Studies – 2006: "After the 1929 riots in Mandatory Palestine, the non-Jewish French writer [[Albert Londres]] asked him why the Arabs had murdered the old, pious Jews in Hebron and Safed, with whom they had no quarrel. The mayor answered: "In a way you behave like in a war. You don't kill what you want. You kill what you find. Next time they will all be killed, young and old." Later on, Londres spoke again to the mayor and tested him ironically by saying: "You cannot kill all the Jews. There are 150,000 of them." [[Raghib al-Nashashibi|Nashashibi]] answered "in a soft voice, 'Oh no, it'll take two days."</ref> and wounded 60, and Jewish homes and synagogs were ransacked; 435 Jews survived by virtue of the shelter and assistance offered them by their Arab neighbors, who hid them.<ref>{{harvnb|Segev|2001|pp=325–26}}: ''The Zionist Archives preserves lists of Jews who were saved by Arabs; one list contains 435 names.''</ref> Some Hebron Arabs, including Ahmad Rashid al-Hirbawi, president of Hebron chamber of commerce, supported the return of Jews after the massacre.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/64363/the-tangled-truth|title=The Tangled Truth |date=May 7, 2008|magazine=The New Republic}}</ref> Two years later, 35 families moved back into the ruins of the Jewish quarter, but on the eve of the [[1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine|Palestinian Arab revolt]] (April 23, 1936) the British Government decided to move the Jewish community out of Hebron as a precautionary measure to secure its safety. The sole exception was the 8th generation Hebronite Ya'akov ben Shalom Ezra, who processed dairy products in the city, blended in well with its social landscape and resided there under the protection of friends. In November 1947, in anticipation of the [[United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine|UN partition vote]], the Ezra family closed its shop and left the city.<ref>{{harvnb|Campos|2007|pp=56–57}}</ref> Yossi Ezra has since tried to regain his family's property through the Israeli courts.<ref name="Levinsohn2011">Chaim Levinsohn (February 18, 2011). [http://www.haaretz.com/israel-supreme-court-rules-hebron-jews-can-t-reclaim-lands-lost-after-1948-1.344090 "Israel Supreme Court Rules Hebron Jews Can't Reclaim Lands Lost After 1948"]. ''[[Haaretz]]''.</ref>

===Jordanian period===
[[File:Hebron- 1960's.jpg|thumb|Hebron in the 1960s under Jordanian rule]]
At the beginning of the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], Egypt took control of Hebron. Between May and October, Egypt and Jordan tussled for dominance in Hebron and its environs. Both countries appointed military governors in the town, hoping to gain recognition from Hebron officials. The Egyptians managed to persuade the pro-Jordanian mayor to support their rule, at least superficially, but local opinion turned against them when they imposed taxes. Villagers surrounding Hebron resisted and skirmishes broke out in which some were killed.<ref>Benny Morris. [https://books.google.com/books?isbn=1860649890 ''The Road to Jerusalem: Glubb Pasha, Palestine and the Jews'']. 2003. pp. 186–87.</ref> By late 1948, part of the Egyptian forces from Bethlehem to Hebron had been cut off from their lines of supply and [[John Bagot Glubb|Glubb Pasha]] sent 350 [[Arab Legion]]naires and an armored car unit to Hebron to reinforce them there. When the [[1949 Armistice Agreements|Armistice]] was signed, the city thus fell under [[Rule of the West Bank and East Jerusalem by Jordan|Jordanian military control]]. The armistice agreement between Israel with Jordan intended to allow Israeli Jewish pilgrims to visit Hebron, but, as Jews of all nationalities were forbidden by Jordan into the country, this did not occur.<ref>Thomas A Idinopulos, Jerusalem, 1994, p. 300, "So severe were the Jordanian restrictions against Jews gaining access to the old city that visitors wishing to cross over from west Jerusalem...had to produce a baptismal certificate."</ref><ref>Armstrong, Karen, ''Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths'', 1997, "Only clergy, diplomats, UN personnel, and a few privileged tourists were permitted to go from one side to the other. The Jordanians required most tourists to produce baptismal certificates—to prove they were not Jewish ... ."</ref>

In December 1948, the [[Jericho Conference]], held by Jordan, was convened to decide the future of the West Bank. Hebron notables, headed by mayor [[Muhammad Ali Ja'abari|Muhamad 'Ali al-Ja'bari]], voted in favor of becoming part of [[Jordan]] and to recognize [[Abdullah I of Jordan]] as their king. The subsequent unilateral annexation benefited the Arabs of Hebron, who during the 1950s, played a significant role in the economic development of Jordan.<ref>{{harvnb|Robins|2004|pp=71–72}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Michael Dumper|author2=Bruce E. Stanley|title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&pg=PA165|year=2007|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-919-5|page=165}}</ref>

Although a significant number of people relocated to Jerusalem from Hebron during the Jordanian period,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=J5U3AAAAIAAJ ''The Encyclopaedia of Islam''], Sir H. A. R. Gibb 1980. p. 337.</ref> Hebron itself saw a considerable increase in population with 35,000 settling in the town.<ref name="Efrat 1984 192">{{harvnb|Efrat|1984|p=192}}</ref> During this period, signs of the previous Jewish presence in Hebron were removed.<ref>{{harvnb|Auerbach|2009|p=79}}: "Under Jordanian rule, the last vestiges of a Jewish historical presence in Hebron were obliterated. The Avraham Avinu synagogue, already in ruins, was razed; a pen for goats, sheep, and donkeys was built on the site."</ref>

===Israeli occupation===
[[File:Hebron105.JPG|thumb|Constructed in 1893, this former Jewish clinic in central Hebron now forms part of an Israeli settlement.]]

After the [[Six-Day War]] in June 1967, Israel [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|occupied]] Hebron along with the rest of the [[West Bank]], establishing a [[Israeli Military Governorate|military government]] to rule the area. In an attempt to reach a [[land for peace]] deal, [[Yigal Allon]] proposed that Israel annex 45% of the West Bank and return the remainder to Jordan.<ref>{{harvnb|Gorenberg|2007|pp=80–83}}.</ref> According to the [[Allon Plan]], the city of Hebron would lie in Jordanian territory, and in order to determine Israel's own border, Allon suggested building a Jewish settlement adjacent to Hebron.<ref>{{harvnb|Gorenberg|2007|pp=138–39}}</ref> [[David Ben-Gurion]] also considered that Hebron was the one sector of the conquered territories that should remain under Jewish control and be open to Jewish settlement.<ref>{{harvnb|Sternhell|1999|p=333}}</ref> Apart from its symbolic message to the international community that Israel's rights in Hebron were, according to Jews, inalienable,<ref>{{harvnb|Sternhell|1999|p=337}}: "In building this new Jewish town, one was sending a message to the international community: for the Jews, the sites connected with Jewish history are inalienable, and if later, for circumstantial reasons, the state of Israel is obliged to give one or another of them up, the step is not considered final."</ref> settling Hebron also had theological significance in some quarters.<ref>{{harvnb|Gorenberg|2007|p=151}}: "David's kingdom was a model for the [[Apocalyptic literature|messianic kingdom]]. David began in Hebron, so settling Hebron would lead to final redemption."</ref> For some, the capture of Hebron by Israel had unleashed a messianic fervor.<ref>{{harvnb|Segev|2008|p=698}}: "Hebron was considered a holy city; the massacre of Jews there in 1929 was imprinted on [[national memory]] along with the great pogroms of Eastern Europe. The messianic fervor that characterized the Hebron settlers was more powerful than the awakening that led people to settle in East Jerusalem: while Jerusalem had already been annexed, the future of Hebron was still unclear."</ref>

[[File:2018 OCHA OpT map Hebron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|left|2018 [[United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs|United Nations]] map of the area, showing the [[Israeli occupation of the West Bank|Israeli occupation]] arrangements.]]
Survivors and descendants of the prior community are mixed. Some support the project of Jewish redevelopment, others commend living in peace with Hebronite Arabs, while a third group recommend a full pullout.<ref name="jpt">{{cite news |author=Tovah Lazaroff |title=Hebron Jews' offspring divided over city's fate |date=May 17, 2006 |newspaper=[[The Jerusalem Post]] |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1145961357122&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816165944/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?apage=1&cid=1145961357122&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=August 16, 2011}}</ref> Descendants supporting the latter views have met with Palestinian leaders in Hebron.<ref name="agf">''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]''. "[https://www.angelfire.com/il/FourMothers/Yona.html Hebron descendants decry actions of current settlers They are kin of the Jews ousted in 1929]", March 3, 1997.</ref> In 1997 one group of descendants dissociated themselves from the settlers by calling them an obstacle to peace.<ref name="agf" /> On May 15, 2006, a member of a group who is a direct descendant of the 1929 refugees<ref name=shragai>{{Cite news
|last = Shragai
|first = Nadav
|title = 80 years on, massacre victims' kin reclaims Hebron house
|work = Haaretz
|access-date = February 7, 2008
|date = December 26, 2007
|url = http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/938599.html
}}</ref> urged the government to continue its support of Jewish settlement, and allow the return of eight families evacuated the previous January from homes they set up in emptied shops near the Avraham Avinu neighborhood.<ref name="jpt" /> [[Beit HaShalom]], established in 2007 under disputed circumstances, was under court orders permitting its forced evacuation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/907606.html |title=Gov't bans Hebron settlers from winterizing controversial house |first1=Nadav |last1=Shargai |date=September 26, 2007 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=November 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803093117/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/907606.html |archive-date=August 3, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Katz |first1=Yaakov |last2=Lazaroff |first2=Tovah |title=Hebron settlers try to buy more homes |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |url=http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152784857&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull |access-date=November 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111022800/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1176152784857&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |archive-date=January 11, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037864.html |title=Settlers threaten 'Amona'-style riots over Hebron eviction |date=November 17, 2008 |first1=Nadav |last1=Shragai |first2=Tomer |last2=Zarchin |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=November 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090522030308/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1037864.html |archive-date=May 22, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1039263.html |title=Hebron settler mob caught on video clashing with IDF troops |first1=Amos |last1=Harel |date=November 20, 2008 |newspaper=Haaretz |access-date=November 12, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100420034311/http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1039263.html |archive-date=April 20, 2010}}</ref> All the Jewish settlers were expelled on December 3, 2008.<ref>[http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1227702434796&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull "High alert in West Bank following Beit Hashalom evacuation"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929100824/http://fr.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1227702434796&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull |date=September 29, 2011}} ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''. December 4, 2008.</ref>

[[File:Israeli soldiers on Palestine street.jpg|thumb|right|Israeli soldiers patrol an open-air market.]]
Immediately after the 1967 war, mayor al-Ja'bari had unsuccessfully promoted the creation of an autonomous Palestinian entity in the West Bank, and by 1972, he was advocating for a confederal arrangement with Jordan instead. al-Ja'bari nevertheless consistently fostered a conciliatory policy towards Israel.<ref>{{cite news |author=Charles Reynell |title=unknown |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cxVXAAAAYAAJ |volume=242 |year=1972}}<!-- this ref originally inserted by [[User:Baybars-hamimi|Baybars-hamimi]] in edit 522855329 in revision of 17:43, 13 November 2012 (UTC); unfortunately it's difficult to determine the true article title, and this Wikipedian ceased editing activity shortly thereafter. --></ref> He was ousted by Fahad Qawasimi in the 1976 mayoral election, which marked a shift in support towards pro-PLO nationalist leaders.<ref>{{harvnb|Mattar|2005|p=255}}</ref> Supporters of Jewish settlement within Hebron see their program as the reclamation of an important heritage dating back to Biblical times, which was dispersed or, it is argued, stolen by Arabs after the massacre of 1929.<ref>{{harvnb|Bouckaert|2001|p=14}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Rubenberg|2003|pp=162–63)}}</ref> The purpose of settlement is to return to the 'land of our forefathers',<ref>{{harvnb|Kellerman|1993|p=89}}</ref> and the Hebron model of reclaiming sacred sites in Palestinian territories has pioneered a pattern for settlers in Bethlehem and Nablus.<ref>{{harvnb|Rubenberg|2003|p=187}}.</ref> Many reports, foreign and Israeli, are sharply critical of the behavior of Hebronite settlers.<ref>{{harvnb| Bovard|2004|p=265}}, citing Charles A. Radin (July 31, 2002). "A Top Israeli Says Settlers Incited Riot in Hebron". ''[[The Boston Globe]]''; Amos Harel and Jonathan Lis (July 31, 2002). "Minister's Aide Calls Hebron Riots a 'Pogrom'". ''[[Haaretz]]''. p. 409, notes 55, 56.</ref><ref>{{harvnb|The Scotsman|2002}}.</ref>

Sheik Farid Khader heads the Ja'bari tribe, consisting of some 35,000 people, which is considered one of the most important tribes in Hebron. For years, members of the Ja'bari tribe were the mayors of Hebron. Khader regularly meets with settlers and Israeli government officials and is a strong opponent of both the concept of Palestinian State and the Palestinian Authority itself. Khader believes that Jews and Arabs must learn to coexist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=1713 |title=Jewish presence in Hebron is an indisputable historical fact |newspaper=Israel Hayom |date=November 4, 2011 |access-date=March 26, 2013}}</ref> [[1980 Hebron attack|A violent episode]] occurred May 2, 1980, when an [[Al Fatah]] squad killed five yeshiva students and one other person on their way home from Sabbath prayer at the [[Tomb of the Patriarchs]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cohen|1985|p=105}}</ref> The event provided a major motivation for settlers near Hebron to join the [[Jewish Underground]].<ref>{{harvnb|Feige|2009|p=158}}</ref>

In the 1980s Hebron, became the center of the Jewish [[Kach and Kahane Chai|Kach]] movement, a designated terrorist organization,<ref>{{harvnb|Cordesman|2006|p=135}}.</ref> whose first operations started there, and provided a model for similar behavior in other settlements. On July 26, 1983, Israeli settlers [[Attack on students at the Islamic College in Hebron|attacked]] the Islamic University and shot three people dead and injured over thirty others.<ref>''Without Prejudice: The Eaford International Review of Racial Discrimination.'' International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination – 1987. p. 81.</ref> The 1994 [[Shamgar Commission]] of Inquiry concluded that Israeli authorities had consistently failed to investigate or prosecute crimes committed by settlers against Palestinians. Hebron IDF commander Noam Tivon said that his foremost concern is to "ensure the security of the Jewish settlers" and that Israeli "soldiers have acted with the utmost restraint and have not initiated any shooting attacks or violence".<ref>{{cite news |author=Margot Dudkevitch |date=October 6, 2000 |title=IDF: Palestinians offer $2,000 for 'martyrs' |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/62288539.html?dids=62288539:62288539&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+6%2C+2000&author=MARGOT+DUDKEVITCH&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=03.A&desc=IDF%3A+Palestinians+offer+%242%2C000+for+%27martyrs%27 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803082106/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/62288539.html?dids=62288539:62288539&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+6%2C+2000&author=MARGOT+DUDKEVITCH&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=03.A&desc=IDF%3A+Palestinians+offer+%242%2C000+for+%27martyrs%27 |archive-date=August 3, 2009 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>

=== Division of Hebron ===
{{Main|Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Hebron}}
[[File:Hebron073.JPG|thumb|[[Racial segregation]] in the city with a road block with Hebrew inscription "מוות לערבים" meaning "''[[Death to Arabs]]''"]]Hebron was the one city excluded from the interim agreement of September 1995 to restore rule over all Palestinian West Bank cities to the [[Palestinian Authority]].<ref name="Kimmerling 2003 443" /> IDF soldiers see their job as being to protect Israeli settlers from Palestinian residents, not to police the Israeli settlers. IDF soldiers are instructed to leave violent Israeli settlers for the police to deal with.<ref>''Haaretz'', June 22, 2020, [https://www.972mag.com/hebron-israeli-soldiers-protect-settlers/ In Hebron, Protecting Palestinians is Not an Israeli Soldier's Job]</ref><ref>''Haaretz'', February 3, 2020, [https://www.972mag.com/jared-kushner-soldiers-occupation/ Jared Kushner Does Not See the Brutal Occupation I Helped Carry Out: As a Former Soldier, I Enforced Two Separate Legal Systems for Israelis and Palestinians--The Trump Plan Wants to Make This Reality Permanent].</ref> Since The [[Oslo Agreement]], violent episodes have been recurrent in the city. The [[Cave of the Patriarchs massacre]] took place on February 25, 1994, when [[Baruch Goldstein]], an Israeli physician and resident of [[Kiryat Arba]], opened fire on Muslims at prayer in the [[Ibrahimi Mosque]], killing 29, and wounding 125 before the survivors overcame and killed him.<ref>Nabeel Abraham,  [http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0002775.html What About The Victims?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192614/http://cosmos.ucc.ie/cs1064/jabowen/IPSC/articles/article0002775.html|date=March 4, 2016}}, ''Lies of Our Times'', May 1994, pp 3–6.</ref> Standing orders for Israeli soldiers on duty in Hebron disallowed them from firing on fellow Jews, even if they were shooting Arabs.<ref>{{harvnb|Bovard|2004|p=265}}. Meir Tayar, commander of the Hebron Border Police at the time testified that, 'Instructions are to take cover, wait until the clip is empty or the gun jams and then overpower him. Even if I had been there (in the mosque), I could not have done anything-there were special orders.'</ref> This event was condemned by the Israeli Government, and the extreme right-wing [[Kach and Kahane Chai|Kach]] party was banned as a result.<ref>{{harvnb|Commission of Inquiry|1994}}.</ref> The Israeli government also tightened restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in H2, closed their vegetable and meat markets, and banned Palestinian cars on Al-Shuhada Street.<ref>{{harvnb|Freedland|2012|p=23}}.</ref> The park near the Cave of the Patriarchs for recreation and barbecues is off-limits for Arab Hebronites.<ref>{{harvnb|Levy|2012}}</ref> Following the 1995 [[Oslo Agreement]] and subsequent 1997 [[Hebron Agreement]], Palestinian cities were placed under the exclusive jurisdiction of the [[Palestinian Authority]], with the exception of Hebron,<ref name="Alimi 2013 178"/> which was split into two sectors: H1 is controlled by the Palestinian Authority and H2 – which includes the [[Old City of Hebron]] – remained under the military control of Israel.<ref name="Kimmerling 2003 443">{{harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|p=443}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/c7d7b824004ff5c585256ae700543ebc?OpenDocument |title=Protocol Concerning the Redeployment in Hebron |date=January 17, 1997 |publisher=United Nations Information System on the Question of Palestine |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071024142822/http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/0/c7d7b824004ff5c585256ae700543ebc?opendocument |archive-date=October 24, 2007}}</ref> Around 120,000 Palestinians live in H1, while around 30,000 Palestinians along with around 700 Israelis remain under Israeli military control in H2. {{As of|2009}}, a total of 86 Jewish families lived in Hebron.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gurkow |first=Lazer |url=http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/624279/jewish/A-Visit-to-Hebron.htm |title=Chabad.org |publisher=Chabad |access-date=November 12, 2009}}</ref> The IDF ([[Israel Defense Forces]]) may not enter H1 unless under Palestinian escort. Palestinians cannot approach areas where settlers live without special permits from the IDF.<ref name="hebron-wp" /> The Jewish settlement is widely considered to be illegal by the international community, although the Israeli government disputes this.<ref name="BBC_GC4">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1682640.stm |title=The Geneva Convention |publisher=BBC News |date=December 10, 2009 |access-date=September 27, 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Old City of Hebron.jpg|thumb|Old City of Hebron]] [[File:HebronOldCityTrash.jpg|thumb|A net installed in the Old City to prevent garbage dropped by Israeli settlers into a Palestinian area.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ward |first=Hazel |date=May 23, 2011 |title=West Bank B&B in Hebron's Old City fully booked |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/news/west-bank-bb-in-hebrons-old-city-fully-booked/story-e6frg8ro-1226061421155 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120912191054/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/travel/news/west-bank-bb-in-hebrons-old-city-fully-booked/story-e6frg8ro-1226061421155 |archive-date=September 12, 2012 |access-date=November 18, 2022 |website=[[The Australian]]}}</ref>|left|270x270px]]
Over the period of the [[First Intifada]] and [[Second Intifada]], the Jewish community was subjected to attacks by Palestinian militants, especially during the periods of the intifadas; which saw 3 fatal stabbings and 9 fatal shootings in between the first and [[second Intifada]] (0.9% of all fatalities in Israel and the West Bank) and 17 fatal shootings (9 soldiers and 8 settlers) and 2 fatalities from a bombing during the second Intifada,<ref name="mfa.gov.il2">{{cite web |date=September 24, 2000 |title=Fatal Terrorist Attacks in Israel Since the DOP (Sep. 1993) |url=http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Palestinian+terror+before+2000/Fatal+Terrorist+Attacks+in+Israel+Since+the+DOP+-S.htm |access-date=April 13, 2007 |publisher=[[Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]}}</ref> and thousands of rounds fired on it from the hills above the Abu-Sneina and Harat al-Sheikh neighborhoods. On November 15, 2002, 12 Israeli soldiers were killed (Hebron Brigade commander Colonel [[Dror Weinberg]] and two other officers, 6 soldiers and 3 members of the security unit of Kiryat Arba) in [[2002 Hebron ambush|an ambush]].<ref>{{harvnb|Harel|2002}}.</ref> Two [[Temporary International Presence in Hebron]] observers were killed by Palestinian gunmen in a shooting attack on the road to Hebron<ref>[http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s514316.htm Two Norwegian observers killed near Hebron: Israeli TV] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021161007/http://abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200203/s514316.htm|date=October 21, 2007}}, ABC News online, March 27, 2002.</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=March 26, 2002 |title=Two Norwegian observers killed near Hebron |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1388887/Two-Norwegian-observers-killed-near-Hebron.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1388887/Two-Norwegian-observers-killed-near-Hebron.html |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |access-date=November 12, 2009 |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927223944/http://www.tiph.org/en/News/?module=Articles;action=Article.publicShow;ID=1579 Two TIPH members killed near Hebron]}}, Temporary International Presence in the City of Hebron website, March 27, 2002.</ref> On March 27, 2001, a Palestinian sniper targeted and killed the Jewish baby [[Murder of Shalhevet Pass|Shalhevet Pass]]. The sniper was caught in 2002.{{citation needed|date=November 2012}} Hebron is one of the three West Bank towns from which the majority of suicide bombers originate. In May 2003, three students of the Hebron Polytechnic University carried out three separate suicide attacks.<ref>{{cite book |author=Diego Gambetta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=211orfsU0UYC |title=Making Sense of Suicide Missions |publisher=OUP Oxford |year=2006 |isbn=978-0-19-929797-9 |page=113}}</ref> In August 2003, in what both Islamic groups described as a retaliation, a 29-year-old preacher from Hebron, Raed Abdel-Hamed Mesk, broke a unilateral Palestinian ceasefire by killing 23 and injured over 130 in a [[Shmuel HaNavi bus bombing|bus bombing]] in Jerusalem.<ref>Chris McGreal (August 20, 2003). [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/aug/20/israel1 "Palestinian suicide bomber kills 20 and shatters peace process"]. ''[[The Guardian]]''.</ref><ref>Ed O'Loughlin (August 21, 2003). [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/20/1061368359339.html "Ceasefire illusion just blown away"]. ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]''. Hamas claimed it marked the anniversary of [[Denis Michael Rohan]]'s attempt to burn the Al-Aqsa mosque. Islamic Jihad claimed it was in revenge for the killing of a leader, Ahmed Sidr, in Hebron.</ref> In 2007, the Palestinian population in H2 declined due to Israeli security measures such as extended curfews, strict restrictions on movement,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.btselem.org/english/press_releases/20071231.asp |title=B'Tselem – Press Releases – 31 Dec. 2007: B'Tselem: 131 Palestinians who did not participate in the hostilities killed by Israel's security forces in 2007 |publisher=B'tselem |date=December 31, 2007 |access-date=November 12, 2009}}</ref> the closure of Palestinian businesses and settler harassment.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israeli NGO issues damning report on situation in Hebron |url=http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/a17e4c9ace4785bac1256d87004bca62 |agency=Agence France-Presse |website=ReliefWeb |date=August 19, 2003 |access-date=March 30, 2007 |archive-date=October 21, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071021152734/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/AllDocsByUNID/a17e4c9ace4785bac1256d87004bca62 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.btselem.org/Download/200308_Hebron_Area_H2_Eng.pdf |title=Hebron, Area H-2: Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians |date=August 2003 |publisher=[[B'Tselem]]}} "In total, 169 families lived on the three streets in September 2000, when the intifada began. Since then, seventy-three families—forty-three percent—have left their homes."</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YAOI-6UN95C?OpenDocument |title=Palestine Refugees: a challenge for the International Community |date=October 10, 2006 |agency=United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East |website=ReliefWeb |quote=Settler violence has forced out over half the Palestinian population in some neighborhoods in the downtown area of Hebron. This once bustling community is now eerily deserted, and presents a harrowing existence for those few Palestinians who dare to remain or who are too deep in poverty to move elsewhere. |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20061017225650/http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/YAOI-6UN95C?OpenDocument |archive-date=October 17, 2006}}</ref><ref name="btselem2007">{{cite web| url=http://www.btselem.org/english/Publications/Summaries/200705_Hebron.asp | title=Ghost Town: Israel's Separation Policy and Forced Eviction of Palestinians from the Center of Hebron |date=May 2007 | publisher=[[B'Tselem]]}}</ref> Palestinians are barred from using [[Al-Shuhada Street]], a principal commercial thoroughfare that is locally nicknamed "Apartheid Street" as a result.<ref name="hebron-wp">{{cite news|author=Janine Zacharia|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/07/AR2010030702702.html|title=Letter from the West Bank: In Hebron, renovation of holy site sets off strife|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=March 8, 2010}}</ref><ref>David Shulman (March 22, 2013). [https://web.archive.org/web/20130323220130/http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2013/mar/22/hope-hebron/ "Hope in Hebron"]. ''New York Review of Books''.<br />"Those who still live on Shuhada Street can't enter their own homes from the street. Some use the rooftops to go in and out, climbing from one roof to another before issuing into adjacent homes or alleys. Some have cut gaping holes in the walls connecting their homes to other (often deserted) houses and thus pass through these buildings until they can exit into a lane outside or up a flight of stairs to a passageway on top of the old casba market. According to a survey conducted by the human-rights organization B'Tselem in 2007, 42 percent of the Palestinian population in the city center of Hebron (area H2)—some 1,014 families—have abandoned their homes and moved out, most of them to area H1, now under Palestinian control."</ref>

Israeli organization [[B'Tselem]] states that there have been "grave violations" of Palestinian human rights in Hebron because of the "presence of the settlers within the city". The organization cites regular incidents of "almost daily physical violence and property damage by settlers in the city", curfews and restrictions of movement that are "among the harshest in the Occupied Territories", and violence by Israeli border policemen and the IDF against Palestinians who live in the city's H2 sector.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hebron, Area H-2: Settlements Cause Mass Departure of Palestinians |url=http://www.btselem.org/English/Publications/Summaries/200308_Hebron_Area_H2.asp}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mounting Human Rights Crisis in Hebron |url=http://hrw.org/english/docs/2001/04/11/isrlpa241.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081115080658/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2001/04/11/isrlpa241.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2008 |access-date=March 29, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Israeli human rights group slams Hebron settlers |url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=331234&contrassID=2&subContrassID=1&sbSubContrassID=0&listSrc=Y}}</ref> According to [[Human Rights Watch]], Palestinian areas of Hebron are frequently subject to indiscriminate firing by the IDF, leading to many casualties.<ref name="HRW-storm2">{{harvnb|Bouckaert|2001|pp=5, 40–43, 48, 71–72}}</ref> One former IDF soldier, with experience in policing Hebron, has testified to [[Breaking the Silence (non-governmental organization)|Breaking the Silence]], that on the briefing wall of his unit a sign describing their mission aim was hung that read: "To disrupt the routine of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood."{{sfn|Freedland|2012|p=22}} Hebron mayor [[Mustafa Abdel Nabi]] invited the [[Christian Peacemaker Teams]] to assist the local Palestinian community in opposition to what they describe as Israeli military occupation, collective punishment, settler harassment, [[House demolition in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict|home demolitions]] and land expropriation.<ref>{{cite web |title=History/Mission of CPT |url=http://www.cpt.org/publications/history.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011002839/http://cpt.org/publications/history.php |archive-date=October 11, 2008 |publisher=Christian Peacemaker Teams}}</ref> In 2017, [[Temporary International Presence in Hebron]] (TIPH) issued a confidential report covering their 20 years of work in Hebron. The report, based in part on over 40,000 incidents reported during this period, stated that Israel violated international law in Hebron and has breached the rights of residents as established by the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]]. The report claimed that Israel  violated Article 49 of the [[Fourth Geneva Convention]], which prohibits the deportation of civilians from occupied territory. Israeli settlement in Hebron was also cited as a violation.<ref name="20yrs">{{cite web | title=Confidential 20-year monitoring report: Israel regularly breaks int'l law in Hebron | website=Haaretz | date=December 17, 2018 | url=https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-confidential-report-claims-israel-regularly-breaks-international-law-in-hebron-1.6747523 | access-date=December 17, 2018}}</ref>