Responsibility for municipal services in Hebron’s Jewish community will shift from the Palestinian municipality to Israeli authorities and the Israel Defense Forces.By Pesach Benson, TPSFinance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced Tuesday that Israel has completed a move to cancel the civil planning provisions of the 1997 Hebron Protocol, transferring planning authority in the Jewish community of Hebron and surrounding holy sites from the Palestinian Hebron Municipality to Israeli control.Smotrich announced the completion of the process during a ceremony marking the establishment of the new community of Doran in the Hebron Hills.“For many years, one of the most absurd clauses of Oslo remained in place, when powers relating to the Jewish settlement in Hebron and the holy places were dependent on the Hebron municipality,” Smotrich said while speaking at the inauguration of Doran, a new community in the Hebron Hills.“Yesterday we put an end to that. This is much more than a planning step, this is a historical amendment. We continue to strengthen governance and deepen Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.”The decision, initially approved in February by the political-security cabinet at Smotrich’s initiative, was finalized overnight by the Supreme Planning Council in Judea and Samaria.The Supreme Planning Council is the top civil administration planning authority responsible for approving construction and infrastructure projects in areas of Judea and Samaria under Israeli control.According to officials, the change will centralize all civil planning approvals for construction, preservation and infrastructure in Israeli hands, and is expected to streamline the advancement of projects in the Jewish enclave and adjacent religious sites. This includes the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the Tomb of Abner and adjacent historic Jewish cemeteries.The Hebron Protocol, signed in 1997 as part of the Oslo Accords, divided the city between H1, under Palestinian Authority control, and H2, where Israel retained security responsibility due to the presence of the Jewish community and key holy sites.While Israel maintained security control in H2, certain civil planning and construction authorities remained with the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality for nearly three decades.Responsibility for municipal services in Hebron’s Jewish community will shift from the Palestinian municipality to Israeli authorities and the Israel Defense Forces.“For years, powers concerning the Jewish settlement and holy sites were dependent on the terror municipality of Hebron. This is a historic correction,” Smotrich said.The post Israel shifts Hebron planning authority to Israeli civil administration appeared first on World Israel News.