The Palestinian Authority municipality of Hebron has been issued an ultimatum to either work together with Israel to create wheelchair access to the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs or Israel will built it on their own. 

A plan to create an elevator and ramp for handicapped access to the ancient holy site has been held up for years because the PA, which controls 80% of the city, is reluctant to let Israel make any changes. 

On Friday, the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories, the Israeli body that oversees civilian life in Judea and Samaria announced, "the Ministry of Defense and the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories are working to find a solution for accessibility to people with disabilities to the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and they see this as very important. A number of alternatives are being examined in order to provide an optimal response considering the complexity of the site."

Representatives of the Jewish community of Hebron praised the statement and added that a specific date should be set. "The Cave of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs belongs to the people of Israel, and the state must ensure that every person of every religion can pray there," they added. 

The 2,000-year-old structure was built by King Herod the Great as a memorial to the Biblical Matriarchs and Patriarchs buried in the Cave of Machpela underneath. Most of the structure is used as a mosque under the control of the Muslim Wafq. The other sections are used for Jewish prayer services. Each religious group is allowed ten days out of the years for exclusive access for holidays.

The PA has been forceful in its narrative that the site is called the Mosque of Ibrahim and should be accessible for Muslims only. Last year they petitioned the United Nations to declare the tomb a Palestinian Heritage Site in Danger.
  The planned elevator would be available to Jews, Muslims and any of the over 700,000 visitors who come to the site every year. 

A wide variety of elected officials this year have joined the call to create access for the disabled. Mossi Raz, a former Member of Knesset from the left-wing Meretz party called for wheelchair access. Despite being an ardent opponent of the Jewish community, Channel 20 reported he sent a personal letter to the Palestinian Authority Minister of Religious Affairs and to the PA mayor of Hebron asking them to approve the permit.

The holy site is accessible by a steep set of stairs and wheelchairs bound people have resorted to using assistants to carry them up. Last year the former chief rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron was lifted up together with his wheelchair by several people up the 60 steps.

The Equal Rights for People with Disabilities Law requires every public structure to be fully accessible to the disabled, however it does not apply specifically to the Tomb of the Patriarchs. The plans for an elevator take the sensitive nature of the historic archtecture into account.
 

 

The Jewish sections of the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriachs are under the jurisdiction of the State of Israel and local Jewish religious authorities. The Jewish population of the city who reside in 3% of the city are Israeli citizens while the Arab residents are part of the Palestinian Authority which has a separate municipality. 

 

 

* Confirm Accessibility for Disabled to Tomb of Patriarchs - Channel 20

* An ultimatum to the Hebron municipality - Israel National News

* Ministry of Defense to make holy site accessible to the disabled? - 93FM

 

 

* Justice Ministry Gives OK to Expropriate Mearas Hamachpelah From Waqf Control

 

 

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