Decoding the news: „Ben Gvir strips the Waqf foundation of authority over the Cave of the Patriarchs“
We need to distinguish between two things currently circulating simultaneously:
- What actually happened at the Cave of the Patriarchs?
According to reports from about two months ago, it was not Ben Gvir personally who revoked the Waqf foundation’s authority, but the Israeli government under Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
- Announcement: Israel has stripped the Palestinian Authority of its powers regarding planning and construction at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.
- Legal basis: This revokes an agreement from the 1990s. Under the 1997 Hebron Protocol, the Palestinians held control over planning and construction in the city, including the site of the Cave.
- Smotrich’s stated goal: to strengthen Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. He called it a „historic step.“
Reactions:
- The Palestinian Authority condemns an „attack on the political and legal status of Hebron“ and a violation of international law.
- The Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union condemned a „project to Judaize“ the shrine and the transfer of administration from the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Affairs to Israel.
The idea of “returning control to Jewish hands“ stems from this resumption of administrative authority at the site, as well as from the political rhetoric of far-right ministers linking the move to sovereignty. 🇮🇱
- Analysis: Why is this site of central importance?
The Cave of the Patriarchs = Me’arat HaMachpelah for Jews, Ibrahimi Mosque for Muslims; located in Hebron.
Today, the building is divided: three-fifths serve as a synagogue in the northwest, and two-fifths as a mosque in the southeast. Consequently, the planned transfer by 2025 is perceived by Israel as a further step toward direct Israeli civil control, and by the Palestinians as de facto annexation.
Israel’s right to control the West Bank—captured in 1967—is not internationally recognized.
- Abraham’s purchase of the tomb according to the Torah
The relevant account is found in Genesis 23.
Summary:
- Context: Sarah dies in Hebron/Kiryat Arba.
- Purchase: Abraham negotiates with Ephron the Hittite. He wishes to buy the Cave of Machpelah to bury Sarah there.
- Price: 400 shekels of silver. Ephron offers to give the tomb away for free, but Abraham insists on paying the full price. The biblical text presents this as a legitimate purchase made in the presence of witnesses „before the sons of Heth.“
- Significance: This is Abraham’s first purchase of land in the Land of Canaan. In Jewish tradition, it establishes a legal and ancestral connection to the land.
Following Sarah, Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Jacob, and Leah are buried there—hence the name „Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs.“
In Muslim tradition, it is also the burial site of Ibrahim, Sarah, Ishaq, Yaqub, etc.—hence the name Ibrahimi Mosque.
In summary:
- There was no decree titled „Ben Gvir strips the Waqf foundation of authority.“ The measure from June 2025 concerns the transfer of planning authority for the site in Hebron from the Palestinian Authority to Israel—a move advocated by Smotrich.
Politically, the current government presents this as an affirmation of sovereignty over a site regarded as a biblical cradle. It is condemned internationally and within the Palestinian community as a process of Judaization and a violation of agreements.
The site is claimed by both religious traditions, based on the story of Abraham purchasing the cave from Ephron for Sarah.
Muslims are viewed as usurpers of this Jewish site.
