‘Emirate of Hebron’ proposes joining Abraham Accords
Five Hebron sheikhs have written a signed letter to Israel’s government
An “Emirate of Hebron” wants to break away from the Palestinian Authority and make peace with Israel under the Abraham Accords, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Five Hebron sheikhs, said by the US newspaper to be backed by a further sixteen from the largest city in the West Bank, have written a signed letter to Israel’s government.
Sheikh Wadee’ al-Jaabari, the 48-year old leader of Hebron’s most influential clan, also known as Abu Sanad, said: “We want cooperation with Israel. We want coexistence” and claimed: “There will be no Palestinian state – not even in 1,000 years.”
The letter is addressed to Israeli economy minister Nir Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem, who has met with Mr. Jaabari and other sheikhs several times this year.
In it, they pledge full recognition of Israel, zero tolerance for terror, a break with the Palestinian Authority and joining the Abraham Accords for peace, jobs, and prosperity.
Sheikh Jaabari adds: ““I plan to cut off the PA. It doesn’t represent the Palestinians.”
The paper reports: “They ask him to present it to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and await his reply. Accepting Israel as a Jewish state goes further than the Palestinian Authority ever has, and sweeps aside decades of rejectionism.”
In further statements, the group describes the Palestinian Authority as being “in complete panic since the initiative was published, as they understand that its success would lead to the dismantling of the PA”.
A subsequent statement claiming to be from members of Sheikh Jaabari’s own family has disavowed the action, saying they “firmly condemn and reject the actions of one individual from our extended family who resides outside the Hebron Governorate. His actions are completely inconsistent with our customs, traditions, and national values. We publicly declare our full disavowal of these actions, which contradict the teachings of our Islamic faith and represent only the individual in question, not our family as a whole.”
It adds that the Al-Jaabari family has “long been rooted in the defence of Palestinian national principles, including the right of our people to self-determination and the protection of our land from the river to the sea. We call upon our fellow citizens and the wider public not to engage with this individual, as he has strayed from both the consensus of our family and the collective national stance.”
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