A city of the West Bank south-southwest of Jerusalem. Sacred to both Jews and Arabs as the home and burial place of Abraham and (to Jews) as King David's capital for seven years, the city has figured in every war in Palestine and has a history of Jewish-Arab violence. Occupied by Israel in 1967, Hebron came under Palestinian control in 1996. Population: 160,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
