Israel approves Jewish religious school construction in occupied West Bank’s Hebron

Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved the construction of a Jewish religious school in the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, in an unprecedented move, Anadolu reports.

The decision marks the first implementation of Israel’s announcement on Tuesday that it was stripping the Palestinian Hebron municipality of its authority over building and planning, in violation of the Hebron Agreement.

The Higher Planning Committee in the Civil Administration approved plans to build 576 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, as part of the government’s policy to expand settlements, Israel’s private Channel 7 reported.

Judea and Samaria is the biblical term Israel uses for the West Bank.

The planned structure covers about 1,000 square meters and was approved without requiring approval from the Hebron municipality, according to the report.

The channel said the move followed a change in planning authority in the area announced Tuesday by Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister and a minister in the Defense Ministry.

Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jabari told Anadolu on Tuesday that he rejects the removal of the municipality’s powers, stressing that it “cannot be bypassed or ignored under any circumstances.”

He called on the United States to assume its responsibilities as a sponsor of the agreements, urging pressure to preserve the status quo in Hebron and prevent unilateral measures.

In a simultaneous development, the Israeli army continued bulldozing and excavation work for a second day in central Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank to establish a military camp, local sources told Anadolu.

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Israeli bulldozers have been working since Tuesday evening on a seven-dunum agricultural plot in the Al-Jabariyat neighborhood. One dunum equals 1,000 square meters, the sources added.

Israeli authorities seized the land from its owners despite its classification as Area A, which is under Palestinian Authority control, the sources said.

Under the 1995 Oslo II agreement, the West Bank is divided into Areas A, B and C. Area A is under full Palestinian control.

Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control, while Area C is under full Israeli control and comprises about 60% of the West Bank.