MK Zvi Sukkot (Religious Zionist Party) submitted a bill signed by 26 Knesset members to remove the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron from the ownership of the Waqf and place it under Israeli governance on Thursday.
"It is unacceptable that in the Jewish State, the Cave of the Patriarchs, which was purchased by our father Abraham and preserved by the Jewish people for thousands of years, should be owned by the Waqf," Sukkot wrote in a post to X/Twitter on Friday morning, announcing the bill.
The bill cites Abraham's biblical purchase of the land as proof of Jewish ownership, and suggests that local municipalities be granted authority over the site.
It also calls for all restrictions upon Jewish visitation and prayer at the site to be removed.
The Knesset members who signed the bill alongside Sukkot are: Avichay Boaron (Likud), Simcha Rothman (RZP), Michal Waldiger (RZP), Moshe Solomon (RZP), Zvika Fogel (Otzma Yehudit), Eti Atiah (Likud), Keti Shitrit (Likud), Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism), Ohad Tal (RZP), Tally Gotliv (Likud), Tsega Melaku (Likud), Avi Maoz (Noam), Amit Halevi (Likud), Ariel Kallner (Likud), Eliyahu Revivo (Likud), Eli Dalal (Likud), Hanoch Milwidsky (Likud), Afif Abed (Likud), Limor Son Har-Melech (Otzma Yehudit), Yitzhak Kreuzer (Otzma Yehudit), Nissim Vaturi (Likud), Moshe Passal (Likud), Sasson Guetta (Likud), Osher Shekalim (Likud), and Michel Buskila (New Hope-United Right).
Historical precendent for the request
Until the Six-Day War in 1967, non-Muslim visitors were banned from entering the tomb itself. Jews visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs were allowed only until the "seven steps" on the outside of the site, in regulated visits.
After 1967, despite allowing the Islamic Waqf to continue overseeing the site, Jews were permitted to enter the Cave of the Patriarchs. Prayer on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur was authorized, though Jewish visits to the site remained regulated.
Since then, numerous terror attacks have been carried out against worshippers of the site.
Following the signing of the Oslo Accords and after Baruch Goldstein's 1994 attack on Palestinian worshippers, the holy site was divided into two distinct prayer areas for Jewish and Muslim worshippers, as well as separate entrances.
In 2017, UNESCO ruled that the Cave of the Patriarchs belonged to the State of Palestine.
Most recently, in July, the Israeli government granted the Kiryat Arba-Hebron Religious Council partial authority over the Cave of the Patriarchs to carry out renovations and construction work at the site. Jewish Hebron authorities have accused the Waqf of refusing to complete these activities.
The United Arab Emirates condemned the move, calling it a "grave violation of the historical and legal status quo at the Ibrahimi Mosque" in a statement released by the foreign ministry.
According to the Jewish Hebron authorities, the site will receive an advanced fire safety system, new security measures, and permanent roofing over unroofed sections, which were mainly located in the Jewish section.
In 2023, the Jewish Hebron authorities succeeded in pushing to build a handicapped-access elevator and ramp. The authorities also claimed at that time that the Palestinian Authority and the Waqf had objected to this construction project.
They also alleged that the Waqf had rejected an Israeli proposal to create handicapped access at the Muslim entrance to the building.