Lost in the dramatic announcement of the approval of local governance for Jewish Israelis in Hebron was the cornerstone laying ceremony for the new community of Doran in the Mount Hebron Hills region.
As the families, children and elected officials stood on the high, barren hilltop, they planted trees and erected a large flag pole upon which a Israeli flag was raised and fluttered over the rolling hills of the Judea region.
Doran will be the newest development community in the greater Hebron region and part of a broad strategic plan to establish strong, connected, and prosperous neighborhoods in Western Judea.
Located between the Jewish communities of Adora and Negohot, the site was once called Mitzpe Amaziah and was a fledgling community attempted in 1982. Two years later, those residents created Adora nearby which today has about 100 families and a mixed population of religious and secular Israelis. Adora has a community center, library, grocery store, gym, synagogue, and youth center. The nearby Guvrin stream attracts tourists. The industrial zone includes companies that manufacture air conditioners, awnings, sunshades, and various metal products.
It is named after the biblical town of Adoraim (also spelled Adorim), mentioned in II Chronicles 11:9 and in I Maccabees 13:20 as one of the battle sites that took place during the Hanukkah story. Old cisterns and mosaic fragments have been found there. Archeological evidence shows the city had Jewish inhabitants until around the time of Shimon Bar Kochba.
Eliram Azulai, the head of the Mount Hebron Regional Council, said at the ceremony, “today we are not only laying a cornerstone for the settlement, we are establishing the strengthening of the Jewish people in the Judean region. Western Judea is the strategic gateway for all of us. When we settle Western Judea, we connect the mountain to the valley, the past to the future, and provide protection and resilience to vast spaces.”
He referenced the October 7th massacre in which terrorists infiltrated from Hamas-run Gaza and attacked civilian communities. “Kibbutz Lahav will not be Kibbutz Be’eri and Kiryat Gat will not be Sderot,” he said, meaning their goal is to create a network of communities that will protect outlying ones. “Doran is the symbol of the great move we are leading, creating a human, security and settlement continuity that will be a wide, strong and growing home for future generations.”
Also attending the inauguration was Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich who announced the headline-making comments that the February security cabinet resolution to let Israeli residents of Hebron run their own city maintenance, planning and building had received final approval. The 1997 Hebron Accords had given the Palestinian Authority run Hebron Municipality jurisdiction over the Israeli neighborhoods of Hebron. Over the decades, they made it difficult or impossible for regular infrastructure maintenance. “Anyone who looks from here at the coastal plain understands that Judea and Samaria are not a distant periphery. They are the security belt of the State of Israel,” he said.
Defense Minister Israel Katz stated “settlement in Judea and Samaria is not just an expression of our deep connection to the Land of Israel and the heritage of our ancestors, it is a central pillar of the state’s security. The establishment of Doran is another step in realizing this vision. Since I took office, we have worked to recognize dozens of new development communities, to regularize farms and to strengthen settlement throughout Judea and Samaria, and we will continue to do so in the future.”
Yishai Merling, Head of the Settlement Division at the World Zionist Organization stated, “today we mark a significant milestone… Doran will create continuity in the heart of Western Judea.” He said the new residents would “connect vision, Zionism and action, out of a commitment to the future.”
The nearby Arab-populated city of Dura is a thriving part of the Palestinian Authority’s Hebron Governorate. It has experienced rapid growth in recent years with a population of about 40,000, not including sprawling PA suburbs. Dura is home to a branch of Al-Quds Open University, the Dura Governmental Hospital, a museum, cultural center and an 18,000 seat stadium.
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