Description : Hebron (Arabic: الْخَلِيل al-Khalīl; Hebrew: חֶבְרוֹן Ḥevron) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, 30 km (19 mi) south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies 930 meters (3,050 ft) above sea level. The largest city in the West Bank, and the second largest in the Palestinian territories after Gaza, it has a population of 215,452 Palestinians (2016), and between 500 and 850 Jewish settlers concentrated in and around the old quarter. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all venerate Hebron for its association with Abraham; it includes the traditional burial site of the biblical Patriarchs and Matriarchs, within the Cave of the Patriarchs. Judaism ranks Hebron the second-holiest city after Jerusalem, while some Muslims regard it as one of the four holy cities.The Hebron Protocol of 1997 divided the city into two sectors: H1, controlled by the Palestinian Authority and H2, roughly 20% of the city, administered by Israel. All security arrangements and travel permits for local residents are coordinated between the Palestinian Authority and Israel via military administration of the West Bank (COGAT). The Jewish settlers have their own governing municipal body, the Committee of the Jewish Community of Hebron. Hebron is a busy hub of West Bank trade, generating roughly a third of the area's gross domestic product, largely due to the sale of limestone from quarries in its area. It has a local reputation for its grapes, figs, limestone, pottery workshops and glassblowing factories, and has the major dairy-product manufacturer al-Juneidi. The old city of Hebron features narrow, winding streets, flat-roofed stone houses, and old bazaars. The city is home to Hebron University and Palestine Polytechnic University.Hebron is attached to cities of ad-Dhahiriya, Dura, Yatta, the surrounding villages with no borders. Hebron Governorate is the largest Palestinian governorate, with a population of 600,364 as of 2010.
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