After more than 20 years of planning, bureaucratic obstacles, and legal challenges, the Jewish Community of Hebron is preparing to lay the foundations for 31 new housing units in the city's historic Hezekiah Quarter, as well as constructing several kindergartens, public parks, and a dormitory.
The project is the first significant Jewish construction in Hebron's section in 23 years.
In 2017, the Civil Administration's Higher Planning Council granted preliminary approval for the project, and the Israeli Cabinet provided final approval the following year.
Under the Hebron Protocol of 1997, signed by Israel and the PLO, the city was divided the city into two sectors: H1, controlled by the Palestinian Authority, and H2, which encompasses approximately 20% of the city and is under Israeli military administration. The protocol has not been ratified by either party.
Uri Karzen, the director-general of the Jewish community in Hebron, which has over 100 families, said Sunday that the ground has been cleared, and the Civil Administration's team of archaeologists under the supervision of the Israel Antiquities Authority has completed its required inspections of land in question.
Construction is expected to commence in the next few months.
Also known as Nahalat Chabat, the Hezekiah Quarter included a large property purchased by a Turkish-Jewish businessman, Haim Yisrael Romano, in 1879.
Called Beit Romano, the property not only house the Romano family, but also included a guesthouse for visiting Jews, and also included a synagogue.
In the 1910s, the neighborhood was sold to the Chabad Hasidic movement, which built a yeshiva in the area.
During World War I, the British converted Beit Romano into a police headquarters. In 1948, the Jordanians seized Judea and Samaria, including, Hebron, and used the Beit Romano building as a school.