Located in the southern West Bank, the city is holy to Muslims and Jews who both pray at the Cave of Makhpela, the burial place of the matriarchs and patriarchs common to both faiths. Within the city a small, ultra-religious group of Jews lives amongst 65,000 Palestinians. On January 15, 1997, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Leader Yassir Arafat agreed to a partial Israeli withdrawal from Hebron, which effectively signaled the consent of Netanyahu's right-wing coalition to the political process of swapping land for peace.

One of the four holy cities of Israel, especially associated with King David, Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs (Machpela Cave).

A major city in Judah, the place from which David first ruled; Abraham and many other ancestors were buried here. See Chapter 8.