The Higher Planning Council of the Civil Administration has approved the building of a permanent roof over the Jewish prayer area in the Tomb of the Patriarchs & Matriarchs (Cave of Machpela). They say the new canopy will help preserve the 2,000-year-old structure physically and archaeologically, increase air and light flow, and be a vast improvement over the temporary tarp which currently exists.
This move comes after removing the Muslim Waqf and Arab-run Hebron Municipality from the planning process after years of refusing to accommodate Jewish worshipers. The Palestinian Authority-controlled side of Hebron vowed to challenge the plan in Israeli courts. Israel Bramson, head of the Kiryat Arba city council was one of the many local Jewish leaders to praise the new plan.
“For years we have tried to promote the plan out of a simple concern for hundreds of thousands of visitors and worshipers who arrive at the holy site in the cold and rain of winter and in the summer heat. This is a moment of historical justice and strengthening of the City of the Ancestors,” he stated.
He thanked the head of the IDF Civil Administration, Brigadier General Hisham Ibrahim, an Israeli of Druze heritage, who championed the plan, as well as other government ministers who worked on the process.
They noted that despite an Israeli body now being in charge of maintenance of the holy site, it will still be shared with separate Muslim and Jewish areas accessed by separate entrances. The ten-day-a-year rotation agreement for each side’s respective holidays will remain in place.
News coverage:
- Hamas and PA Condemn Canopy to Protect Jewish Worshipers – Jerusalem Post
- Israel Approves Construction of a Courtyard Roof at Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs – Haaretz
Previous Hebron.com articles on this story:
- Israel Takes Control of Machpela Maintenance – November 2025
- Important Renovations for Tomb after Transfer of Authority to Israel – July 2025
- New Roof Approval Called “Historic” – September 2025
