[News] Hebron tribes reject Israeli proposal to trade statehood for tribal rule

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 Hebron tribes reject Israeli proposal to trade statehood for tribal rule

Tribal leaders condemned the proposal as a betrayal after one individual
offered to recognize Israel in return for joining the Abraham Accords

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

JUL 7, 2025 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/hebron-tribes-reject-israeli-proposal-to-trade-statehood-for-tribal-rule
(Photo credit: Getty Images)

Tribal representatives in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron have
rejected a reported proposal to establish a so-called “tribal emirate” in
exchange for recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, *Anadolu Agency*
reported on 7 July.

The proposal, first revealed by the *Wall Street Journal*, alleged that
Hebron tribal leaders sent a letter to Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat,
offering formal recognition of Israel in return for being appointed as
representatives of Arab residents in Hebron and setting a timetable to join
the US-led Abraham Accords.

In a press conference on Sunday, Hebron tribal figure Nafez al-Jaabari
denounced the offer and declared the community’s rejection of the
initiative.

“The Palestinians are a conscious people, and it is unthinkable for them to
abandon their cause,” he said.

“We, as the 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 added, referring to Wadee al-Jaabari, named
by the *Wall Street Journal* (WSJ) as the author of the letter.

Jaabari emphasized his tribe’s commitment to “Islamic and national values,”
stressing the importance of Palestinian self-determination and the creation
of a fully sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital, across the
entirety of national land.

The statement comes amid ongoing Israeli military assaults across the
occupied West Bank, where Israeli soldiers and settlers have escalated
attacks
<https://thecradle.co/articles/west-bank-settler-attacks-reach-20-year-high-over-220-palestinians-injured-in-2025>
since 7 October 2023.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 989 people have been
killed and more than 7,000 injured in the occupied West Bank since the
beginning of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, with thousands more displaced
<https://thecradle.co/articles-id/26014> and hundreds of homes demolished
by occupation forces.

In July 2023, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled the Israeli
occupation illegal and demanded the removal of all settlements from the
occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
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