Middle East Monitor / April 29, 2022
‘Building a new settlement in the heart of Hebron/Al-Khalil constitutes a great deal of damage to Israel and completely contradicts the founding principles of the government’, Peace Now
The Israeli Supreme Court today approved the construction of a 31-unit six-storey settler apartment complex in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, known as the Hezekiah Quarter.
The court rejected a petition submitted by the Peace Now rights group and the Municipality of Hebron against the complex, which is built on Palestinian land in the heart of the occupied city.
Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper said the new complex is part of a larger plan that includes building 60 settlement units in the wholesale market area in Hebron.
It pointed out that work on the scheme began several years ago before it was temporarily frozen, but the court’s decision is the last legal hurdle for expanding the Jewish neighbourhood.
The wholesale market, located in the heart of Hebron city, has been closed by the Israeli authorities since 1994 after Al-Ibrahimi Mosque massacre. The market contains 25 shops rented by citizens from the Hebron municipality.
