The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the petition submitted by the Hebron Municipality, the Muslim Waqf and the Committee for the Rehabilitation of the Old City against the roofing project for the internal courtyard of the Cave of the Patriarchs.
The petition was filed following a limited expropriation notice published by the head of the Civil Administration in September 2025, concerning an area of 288 square meters in the overhead space only, intended to allow the construction of a roof over the courtyard used by worshippers.
The political leadership's decision to advance the project, which had proceeded intermittently since 2008, was taken in November 2024, and a contractor has already been selected with work expected to be completed toward mid-June.
In the main opinion, written by President Yitzhak Amit and joined by Justices David Mintz and Ruth Ronen, the court held that the petition must be dismissed in light of the essential public need served by the project. The judges clarified that the current covering, consisting of a temporary and partial plastic sheet, is inadequate and creates serious safety hazards, recurrent flooding of the courtyard and real difficulties in exercising freedom of worship during winter and summer.
As an example, the court noted that in the past year, during the annual event commemorating the Biblical purchase of the Cave attended by tens of thousands of people, prayers in the courtyard had to be halted because rainwater penetrated even into the interior of the building.
The Palestinian petitioners argued, conversely, that they have exclusive planning authority in the compound and that the expropriation was carried out for political reasons and due to foreign considerations of ministers in the government seeking to strip them of powers. They also submitted an opinion asserting that the roofing would harm the historic character of the site.
The state, by contrast, presented the position that representatives of the Civil Administration attempted to coordinate the move with the Waqf and the municipality, but were met with categorical and total refusal by them to any change or construction of a roof in the compound. Following the Palestinian boycott, planning powers were transferred to the subcommittee of the Higher Planning Council, which dismissed their objections in multiple planning forums.
President Amit rejected the claims of harm to the historic structure and emphasized that the new roof was carefully designed, will be transparent, will preserve the passage of light and air and will even allow the historic Ottoman sundial to be returned to operation, thereby improving the visibility of the site compared with its currently neglected condition.
It was further emphasized that the expropriation is highly limited and does not affect the ground surface but only the overhead space. The judges referred to the "elevator affair" (the cave accessibility project) and noted that the new roof will serve all populations, as Muslim worshippers will also benefit from a protected and dry courtyard during the ten days of each year when the compound is open to them alone.
Justice Ruth Ronen noted in her opinion that she reached the conclusion, "not without hesitation", given the extreme sensitivity of the site and the fact that the state assumed the Waqf's and the municipality's planning powers. Nevertheless, Ronen ruled to dismiss the petition due to a series of cumulative reasons: the architectural intervention is very limited (less than the installation of the elevator), a genuine attempt at cooperation was made by the state, the construction's purpose is strictly limited to preventing flood damage, and the alternative of leaving the temporary and unsightly plastic covering in place is unacceptable and unsafe.
Betsalmo CEO Shai Glick said, "In the past decade I have worked extensively to make the Cave of the Patriarchs accessible and to improve freedom of worship for all who come. I welcome the Supreme Court's decision and call on the Civil Administration not to delay and to immediately complete the roofing and improvement of all infrastructure at the site befitting this respected place."