Palestinian tribes reject proposal to establish ‘tribal emirate’ in Hebron

By Aysar Alais and Betul Yilmaz

RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL (AA) - Palestinian tribes disavowed on Sunday a proposal to establish a tribal emirate in the West Bank city of Hebron in exchange for recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.

The Wall Street Journal claimed earlier that Hebron’s tribal leaders had sent a letter to Israel’s Economy Minister Nir Barkat, proposing the establishment of an emirate in the city.

According to the US newspaper, the letter proposed recognizing Israel as a Jewish state in return for recognizing the signatories of the letter as representatives of Arab residents in the Hebron district, in addition to suggesting a timetable to join the Abraham Accords, US-sponsored agreements to normalize ties between Israel and Arab countries.

The Palestinian tribes in Hebron, however, firmly rejected the proposal and reaffirmed their commitment to Palestinian values.

“The Palestinians are a conscious people, and it is unthinkable for them to abandon their cause,” Nafez al-Jaabari, a representative of Hebron’s tribes, said in a press conference on Sunday.

“We, as the al-Jaabari tribe, declare our complete disapproval and denunciation of what was done by a family member unknown to the tribe and not a resident of Hebron,” he said, referring to Wadee’ al-Jaabari, who was named as the initiator of the proposal in the report.

He affirmed his family's commitment to "Islamic and national values, the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination, and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, on all our national soil."

The Palestinian tribes' statement came as the Israeli army and illegal settlers continued their assaults in the occupied West Bank.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, at least 989 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.​​​​​​​