People Tied to Place: Strengthening Cultural Identity in Hebron’s Old City

Following the Oslo accords, the Old City of Hebron, one of the best preserved examples of medieval cities in the world but progressively abandoned since the 1967 occupation, became the object of an ambitious Palestinian rehabilitation project, which received international recognition with a 1998 Aga Khan architectural award. This report details the project and the strategy to repopulate the Old City against the background of Hebron's ancient and recent history, including the impact of Israeli policies and settler violence. Israeli measures in the wake of the second intifada have posed unprecedented challenges, which the ongoing project's planners struggle to meet.

Anita Vitullo, a Jerusalem-based researcher and writer, is the editor of Turath, a technical newsletter on architectural heritage published by the Old City of Jerusalem Revitalization Program.