HEBRON – Tens of thousands flocked here yesterday to the biblical town of Hebron to celebrate Passover festivities alongside the Tomb of the Patriarchs – the second holiest site to Judaism – amid fears the neighborhood would be soon evacuated as part of Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's planned withdrawal from most of the West Bank.

"All of Judea and Samaria (the West Bank) is on the chopping block. Every neighborhood is now under the threat of eviction as part of Olmert's plan. We are very worried," Hebron spokesperson and longtime resident David Wilder told WND.

Passover party outside Tomb of Patriarchs in 2005. Photo: WND.

Hebron is home to the oldest Jewish community in the world. Jews lived here almost continuously throughout the Byzantine, Arab, Mameluke and Ottoman periods and first established their capital in the city until it was moved seven years later to Jerusalem. In 1929, Hebron's Jewish community was evacuated by the British as a result of an Arab pogrom in which 67 Jews were murdered. The Jews re-established their presence in Hebron after the West Bank was recaptured in the 1967 Six Day War.

Over 20,000 people flocked to a Passover party yesterday in this ancient city, believed to be home to the resting place of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah.

Attendees browsed information and souvenir booths, crowded hotdog and hamburger stands and danced on a large field as music from a central performing stage reverberated off the adjacent, large tomb building that has long been central to life in the town.

Several thousand waited in line to enter the Tomb of the Patriarchs and pray at the site of the famed gravesides housed in separate rooms within a large stone compound.

The book of Genesis relates Abraham purchased the field where the Tomb of the Patriarchs is located as a burial place for his wife, Sarah. It later became a plot for the rest of the family, except for Jacob's wife, Rachel, who died when she gave birth while traveling and was buried on a road in Bethlehem.

Most sections of the building are open year-round, with the exception of the tombs of Isaac and Rebecca, which are only accessible to Jewish worshipers on Passover and other high holidays in acquiescence to the demands of local Muslims, who maintain a praying area near Isaac's tomb.

"It is so powerful to be able to visit and pray at the Tomb of the Patriarchs. You can feel the Bible literally come alive," said Sara Wallenberg, an American visiting Israel for the Passover holiday. "This makes the holiday so much more powerful for me."

But the mood wasn't all festive. Many Hebron residents said they fear they might soon be forcibly evacuated from their homes in the near future.

Miriam Grubowski, a Hebron resident, told WND "We don't know which parts of the area are being evacuated and which aren't. But we assume they will put Hebron on the withdrawal plan with everything else."

Olmert officials previously have listed some West Bank Jewish communities slated for withdrawal. Hebron was not on the list. But senior members of Olmert's Kadima Party stated last week the acting prime minister plans to evacuate all Jewish communities that fall outside Israel's separation barrier, amounting to nearly 95 percent of the West Bank, including Hebron. Olmert himself has eluded several times to withdrawing from the towns outside the barrier.

About 200,000 Jews live in the West Bank. A separation barrier, still under construction in certain areas, cordons off nearly 95 percent of the territory from Israel's pre-1967 borders. More than half the West Bank's Jewish residents reside on the side of the fence closest to Israel. About 90,000 more Jews live on the other side of the barrier.

The West Bank is considered landlocked territory not officially recognized as part of any country. Israel calls the land "disputed," while the United Nations says the West Bank is "occupied" by Israel. The Jewish state maintains overall control of most of the area while the Palestinian Authority has jurisdiction in about 40 percent.

Military strategists long have estimated Israel must maintain the West Bank to defend itself from any ground invasion. Terrorist groups have warned if Israel withdraws, they will launch rockets from the West Bank into Israeli cities. The West Bank is within rocket firing range of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Israel's international airport.

Wilder said if Hebron is evacuated "it would be the most tragic mistake. Aside from the clear victory for terrorism, it would place some of the holiest sites in the world, including the second holiest site to Judaism, in the hands of the Muslims. Jews would be banned from here. It is shocking a Jewish country would willingly give up these areas."

Other villages slated for withdrawal from the West Bank, which Israelis commonly refer to as the "biblical heartland," are also mentioned throughout the Torah.

The book of Genesis says Abraham entered Israel at Shechem (Nablus) and received God's promise of land for his offspring.

The nearby town of Beit El, anciently called Bethel meaning "house of God," is where Scripture says the patriarch Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven. In that dream, God spoke directly to Jacob and reaffirmed the promise of territory.

And in Exodus, the holy tabernacle rested in Shiloh, believed to be the first area the ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt.

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