Five Hebron sheikhs approached Israeli Minister Nir Barkat with a plan to establish an independent emirate, pledging zero tolerance for terrorism and calling for mutual recognition between Israel and the proposed Hebron Emirate.
Five sheikhs from Hebron have proposed establishing an independent emirate in the city, severing ties with the Palestinian Authority, and joining the Abraham Accords, according to a report in the *Wall Street Journal*.
The report states that the five sent a letter to Minister Nir Barkat, who has met with them more than ten times, in which they requested to replace the Palestinian Authority as the governing and policing entity, and to recognize the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.
In their letter, the sheikhs called for negotiations to establish a new arrangement to replace the Oslo Accords, which they said had brought “disaster and death.” They also proposed a formalized process for allowing workers from Hebron to enter Israel and pledged “zero tolerance for terrorism.”
“The Hebron Emirate will recognize the State of Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, and the State of Israel will recognize the Hebron Emirate as the representative of the Arab residents of the Hebron district,” the sheikhs proposed.
A senior Israeli official told the newspaper that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supports the initiative but is waiting to see how it develops before making a public statement.
“No one in Israel believes in the Palestinian Authority, and you won’t find many Palestinians who do either. The Jabari sheikhs want peace with Israel and to join the Abraham Accords—there’s no reason to say no to them,” Minister Nir Barkat said in response to the report.
