Hebron

Hebron, city in the West Bank, situated in the southern Judaean Hills south-southwest of Jerusalem. Located about 3,050 feet (930 metres) above sea level, Hebron long benefited from its mountainous clime, which encouraged the cultivation of fruit trees and vineyards. In addition, its location at a natural crossroads placed it along a historically desirable travel route. In modern times, Hebron was administered as part of the British mandate of Palestine (1920–48); after the first of the Arab-Israeli wars in 1948–49, it was in the territory annexed by Jordan (1950). Following the Six-Day War of June 1967, it was part of the West Bank territory that came under Israeli occupation. In the wake of an agreement reached in January 1997, part of Hebron came under the administration of the Palestinian Authority (PA), while part of the city remained under Israeli control.

Hebron is one of the oldest cities in the region. Because of its associations with the biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and with King David, it is one of the four holy cities of Judaism (Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, and Ẕefat [Safed]). In Islamic tradition, which reveres Abraham as a founder of monotheism and precursor of Muhammad, Hebron is among the four holiest cities (Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, and Hebron). In addition to its important associations with Abraham, Hebron has been regarded by some Muslims as the site of a stopping point along Muhammad’s miʿrāj, or miraculous night journey to Jerusalem; as a result, Hebron has long been a significant site of pilgrimage.

Abraham long lived in Hebron, which was often referred to as Qiryat Arbaʿ (Hebrew: “City of the Four” or “Tetrapolis”), possibly referring to four confederated settlements in the area in biblical times or to the fact that the city is built on four hills. At Hebron Abraham purchased the Cave of Machpelah (Hebrew: Meʿarat ha-Makhpelah) as a burial place for his wife, Sarah, from Ephron the Hittite (Genesis 23); this became a family sepulchre. According to tradition, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with their wives Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah, were buried in the cave. After the Exodus from Egypt, Hebron was one of the cities visited by the spies sent by Moses. Later, Joshua fought the Battle of Aijalon, where “the sun stood still,” against a confederation of Amorite chiefs that included the “king of Hebron” (Joshua 10).

King David (c. 10th century bce) was ordered by God to go to Hebron; he was anointed king of Israel there and made it his capital for seven and a half years until the taking of Jerusalem (II Samuel 2–5). In postexilic times Hebron fell to the Edomites; King Herod the Great (ruled 37–4 bce) built a wall—portions of which survive—around the cave of Machpelah, which was later augmented by Byzantines, Crusaders, and Mamlūks. In later centuries Hebron was administered under the rule of successive Muslim dynasties that, with the exception of a period of Crusader control in the 12th century, administered the city in turn from its conquest in 635 ce until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire after World War I. During his rule in the late 12th century, Saladin rebuilt many of the city’s structures damaged by the Crusaders.

Modern Hebron is an agricultural marketing and trade centre, and glass and leather goods are produced there. Visitors have been drawn by the Cave of Machpelah and the large mosque surmounting it, al-Ḥaram al-Ibrāhīmī (the Sanctuary of Abraham), open for many centuries to Muslims alone. After the Six-Day War the tombs of the patriarchs were opened to all worshippers for the first time since the original prohibition against non-Muslims made by the Mamlūk sultan Baybars I in 1267. Both Muslim and Jewish services began to be held in the cave, and the upper sanctuary has been divided between the communities.

In the early 20th century, Hebron was a Muslim Arab city in which remained a small Jewish community, largely of pious seminarians. Along with other areas in the region, Hebron became a centre of increasing conflict. In the Arab riots of 1929, 67 Hebron Jews were killed; the remainder of the community left the city after the beginning of the Arab uprising of 1936–39. After the Six-Day War in 1967, Orthodox settlers renewed the Jewish presence in the city. Campaigns by these settlers resulted in the establishment of quarters and enclaves of Jewish communities in and around the city, and the settlers’ presence was approved by the Israeli government in 1970. Friction generated by these events contributed to a number of conflicts and violent exchanges with the Arab population in Hebron.

The city of Hebron continues to represent an amalgamation of rich historic and cultural heritages. Tourists and pilgrims value Hebron as the site of the Cave of Machpelah, al-Ḥaram al-Ibrāhīmī, and other areas connected with the lives of the patriarchs, such as Abraham’s Oak (Hebrew: Eshel Avraham), just northwest of the city. In addition, Hebron’s Old City has been considered among the world’s best-preserved medieval cities, with a number of surviving Mamlūk- and Ottoman-period structures. With the violence following the Six-Day War, however, the Old City centre became a site of confrontation. In addition, poor or absent utilities and the general poverty of the Old City resulted in the departure of many of its residents, and, with only a fraction of its inhabitants remaining, the Old City fell into disrepair. A program designed to revitalize the Old City was initiated following the transfer of parts of Hebron from Israeli administration to that of the PA in the 1990s. In 1998 the efforts by the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee to restore the Old City’s vitality were recognized and lauded by the Aga Khan Foundation, which helped to focus international attention on the project.

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Several facilities of higher education are centred in Hebron. Hebron University (1971) offers courses in religion and the arts and sciences, and instruction is provided in both Arabic and English. Palestine Polytechnic University (1978) provides instruction in a range of fields that includes engineering, business, and applied sciences. Pop. (2005 est.) 160,500.