Important Renovations for Tomb after Transfer of Authority to Israel

Home / What's New / Important Renovations for Tomb after Transfer of Authority to Israel

- Staff
17/07/2025

The Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs will receive an advanced fire safety system, new security measures and permanent roofing over unroofed sections thanks to a change in authority.

After numerous attempts to work together with the Muslim Waqf and the Palestinian Authority Hebron Governorate failed, the Israeli Civil Administration this week assigned the Hebron-Kiryat Arba Religious Council jurisdiction over the holy site.

The area designated for Jewish prayer services is open to the sky and exposed to rain and sun. Temporary tarps have intermittently protected visitors against the elements, but because the site has shared jurisdiction, any additions or renovations must go through an arduous process. In 2011, strong rains caused the tarp to collapse. Approval was made for the creation of a permanent roof over the Jewish section in December 2024 but was never implemented.

Eyal Gelman, head of the Israeli Hebron city council welcomed the decision stating:

“more than twenty years ago, the local committee in Hebron began to work to create a proper roof for the courtyard. Hundreds of hours of planning and political procedures led to the appropriate approvals, which ultimately led to the planning of a roof for the Tomb of the Patriarchs & Matriarchs, which was ready to be erected in 2007.

Since then, the Israeli government has waited for an appropriate time to erect the roof required for the safety and well-being of worshippers. The years have passed and the suffering and hardship of the worshippers who frequent the holy place has not ended.

Last year, the issues were brought up in the subcommittee of the Foreign Affairs and Security Committee headed by Member of Knesset Zvi Sukkot.

About four months ago, residents of Hebron and the management of the Tomb of the Patriarchs & Matriarchs, with the help of donors, erected a roof.

Due to pressure from the Waqf, it was decided to remove the roof and to once again restart the process for approving the planning and erecting a roof.

Recently, the Minister of Defense, the IDF Central Command, and the Civil Administration have been working to erect the roof in accordance with its original plan, and the roof is expected to be constructed in the coming months.”

Overhead view of the Machpela complex. The roofed section in the middle is the Hall of Isaac and Rebecca, designed for Muslim worship. The other parts are exposed to the rain, snow and sun.

Gelman added that the site is the burial place of the Biblical founding fathers and mothers. For 700 years, starting with the Mamluks, Jews were banned from entering the site and relegated to standing at the seventh step of the staircase leading into the building.

This ended with the Six Day War in 1967 when Israel regained control of Hebron and people of all faiths were allowed to visit and pray.

In the 1990s, when the Oslo Accords were in process, the Islamic Waqf and Palestinian Authority-run Hebron municipality were given jurisdiction of the site, with Israeli bodies maintaining maintenance of the Jewish designated area. But any change, even a light bulb, needed permission for the Waqf. Gelman, noted that Jews are allowed access to only 35% of the building.

A rotation agreement allows for ten days a year when Jews get access to the entire site, corresponding to Jewish holidays, and ten days of year for exclusive Muslim access. On these days, Jewish items are removed and locked up to prevent vandalism.

Dr. Noam Arnon, the author of several books on the history and archeology of the Cave of Machpela, noted that the site is historically Jewish. “It’s not just Biblical,” he said, “but the tomb structure over the cave was built in the 1^st century by Jews, over 600 years before Islam existed.”

He added that the Waqf has multiple offices in the Machpela complex and maintains control over the Hall of Isaac and Rebecca, the largest section, which is roofed, while Jews are relegated to the open courtyard areas.

Dr. Arnon is one of the few people to have entered inside the actual cave under the Herodian structure as part of a team of researchers in 1981.

In the 1997 Hebron Accords, the city was divided and 80% was given to the Palestinian Authority which created its own municipality. Out of the remaining 20% under Israeli control, Jews are only allowed access to Jewish neighborhoods which comprises 3% of the city.

The PA and Waqf also protested against the building of a handicapped access elevator and ramp to the site which had been in the planning process for decades. Despite threats, the elevator was finally erected in 2023. The Waqf rejected an Israeli proposal to create handicapped access at the Muslim entrance to the building.