Netanyahu and Arafat Sign Hebron Protocol After Months of Deadlock
Israel agrees to withdraw from most of Hebron while maintaining control over Jewish settler areas in the divided city.
After months of acrimonious negotiations, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chairman Yasser Arafat signed the Hebron Protocol early this morning, implementing the long-delayed Israeli withdrawal from most of the West Bank’s largest Palestinian city.
The agreement, brokered through intensive American mediation, divides Hebron into two sectors: H1, comprising 80% of the city under Palestinian control, and H2, where 450 Jewish settlers live among 30,000 Palestinians under Israeli control. This unique arrangement reflects Hebron’s status as the only Palestinian city with Jewish settlers in its heart.
Netanyahu, who had campaigned against the Oslo Accords, became the first Likud prime minister to cede West Bank territory to Palestinian control. He secured several conditions, including Palestinian commitments to combat terrorism and revise the PLO Charter.
The protocol also includes a “Note for the Record” outlining further Israeli withdrawals from rural West Bank areas over the next 18 months, though Netanyahu insisted these would be limited in scope.
The signing ceremony at the Erez checkpoint was tense, with neither leader shaking hands. Both face domestic opposition - Netanyahu from settlers who see any withdrawal as betrayal, Arafat from those who view the deal as legitimizing settler presence in Hebron.
The agreement temporarily revives the moribund peace process but underscores its fundamental challenges. The division of Hebron creates a complex security arrangement that many predict will be a source of future friction.