Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved the construction of a Jewish religious school in the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, in an unprecedented move, Anadolu reports.
The decision marks the first implementation of Israel’s announcement on Tuesday that it was stripping the Palestinian Hebron municipality of its authority over building and planning, in violation of the Hebron Agreement.
The Higher Planning Committee in the Civil Administration approved plans to build 576 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, as part of the government’s policy to expand settlements, Israel’s private Channel 7 reported.
Judea and Samaria is the biblical term Israel uses for the West Bank.
As part of the decision, approval was also granted for the first time to establish a new building for the Shavei Hebron religious school near Beit Romano in Hebron, the channel added.
The planned structure covers about 1,000 square meters and was approved without requiring approval from the Hebron municipality, according to the report.
The channel said the move followed a change in planning authority in the area announced Tuesday by Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s finance minister and a minister in the Defense Ministry.
Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jabari told Anadolu on Tuesday that he rejects the removal of the municipality’s powers, stressing that it “cannot be bypassed or ignored under any circumstances.”
He called on the United States to assume its responsibilities as a sponsor of the agreements, urging pressure to preserve the status quo in Hebron and prevent unilateral measures.
In a simultaneous development, the Israeli army continued bulldozing and excavation work for a second day in central Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank to establish a military camp, local sources told Anadolu.
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Israeli bulldozers have been working since Tuesday evening on a seven-dunum agricultural plot in the Al-Jabariyat neighborhood. One dunum equals 1,000 square meters, the sources added.
Israeli authorities seized the land from its owners despite its classification as Area A, which is under Palestinian Authority control, the sources said.
Under the 1995 Oslo II agreement, the West Bank is divided into Areas A, B and C. Area A is under full Palestinian control.
Area B is under Palestinian civilian control and Israeli security control, while Area C is under full Israeli control and comprises about 60% of the West Bank.
Tracked bulldozers were leveling the land while the area remained closed to residents, they added.
Jenin Municipality Director-General Mamdouh Assaf previously told Anadolu that the land seized by Israel is privately owned by Palestinians and located in a residential Area A zone.
“We are facing a dangerous precedent,” Assaf said. “This area is under Palestinian sovereignty according to the signed agreements, and establishing a military point there means imposing a new reality whose repercussions on residents and their daily movement remain unknown.”
The targeted site directly overlooks Jenin refugee camp and large neighborhoods of the city, making it a strategic observation and monitoring point, he said.
In early June, Israeli authorities issued a military order to confiscate seven dunums of land in the Al-Jabariyat area overlooking Jenin refugee camp, claiming it would be used for “military purposes.”
The Israeli army has been carrying out a large-scale military offensive in the northern West Bank since Jan. 21, 2025. The operation began in Jenin refugee camp before expanding to the Tulkarm and Nur Shams refugee camps.
According to official figures, the attack has killed dozens of Palestinians, wounded hundreds, destroyed homes and infrastructure, and displaced tens of thousands from camps and cities in the northern occupied West Bank.
The occupied West Bank has witnessed escalating demolitions and attacks by Israeli forces and occupiers, including bulldozing agricultural land and restricting farmers’ access, especially in areas near settlements.
Palestinians warn that the attacks pave the way for Israel to formally move toward annexation of the West Bank, ending the possibility of a Palestinian state as outlined in UN resolutions.
Israel was established in 1948 on land occupied by armed Zionist groups that carried out attacks and displaced at least 750,000 Palestinians. Tel Aviv later occupied the remaining Palestinian territories and continues to refuse withdrawal or the establishment of a Palestinian state.
READ: Israeli occupiers set fire to 2 mosques, army demolishes Palestinian home in occupied West Bank
