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Hebron; The Center of the Controversy

© lawhawk

It seems that every time that you look at the newspapers and see stories about Israel and the Middle East, Hebron is the first area mentioned . "Hebron is the site of more violence..", "Hebron is placed under curfew...", "Gunman kills 39 worshipers in Hebron", are examples of newspaper and magazine headlines of the past several years. What makes this town of 100,000 one of the most notorious cities in the Middle East, if not the world?

The answer to that question is simple: Its origin. But this issue has become very complex over the years. The Bible and Koran both point to the Cave of Machpellah as the resting places of the patriarchs and matriarchs. This cave is located in the heart of Hebron and is today surrounded by ultra religious Jewish settlers and Islamic fundamentalists. Both claim ownership of the cave, and believe history is on their side. A series of negotiations over the years have led to the cave being open to both faiths. But the Arab population outnumbers the Jewish population 90,000 to 450. This has led to friction on both sides as they try to assert their land claims in and around Hebron.

There is a strict schedule as to when Jews and Moslems have access to the cave, and when this schedule has not been kept, there has been tremendous unrest in the area. Security has been a major headache in Hebron because of the size of the Jewish community. The Oslo Accords called for the pullout of Israeli troops from Hebron and their replacement by Palestinian Authority forces who would take over the security of the town, including the Cave. However, for one reason or another, this has been stalled by both governments. Depending on who you listen to, they will say that the other side is not bargaining in good faith or have failed to live up to the agreements of the past.

When a Jewish settler burst into the Cave and killed several dozen Moslem worshipers, there was tremendous outrage in the Arab community and many Jewish right wingers supported his actions. Some Jewish extremists considered the settler to be a martyr who died to assure that Jews would forever remain in Hebron. Palestinian terrorists responded by bombing buses throughout Israel, including several in Tel Aviv, killing dozens. Violence begot violence. The final outcome was only more people dead on both sides, and nothing to show for it.

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