The British occupied Hebron on 8 December 1917 . Most of Hebron was owned by old Islamic charitable endowments ( '' waqfs '' ) , with about 60 % of all the land in and around Hebron belonging to the Tamīm al-Dārī waqf . In 1922 , its population stood at 17,000 . During the 1920s , Abd al-Ḥayy al-Khaṭīb was appointed Mufti of Hebron . Before his appointment , he had been a staunch opponent of Haj Amin , supported the Muslim National Associations and had good contacts with the Zionists . Later , al-Khaṭīb became one of the few loyal followers of Haj Amin in Hebron . During the late Ottoman period , a new ruling elite had emerged in Palestine . They later formed the core of the growing Arab nationalist movement in the early 20th century . During the Mandate period , delegates from Hebron constituted only 1 per cent of the political leadership . The Palestinian Arab decision to boycott the 1923 elections for a Legislative Council was made at the fifth Palestinian Congress , after it was reported by Murshid Shahin ( an Arab pro-Zionist activist ) that there was intense resistance in Hebron to the elections . Almost no house in Hebron remained undamaged when an earthquake struck Palestine on July 11 , 1927
earthquake struck Palestine
1927 Jericho earthquake
Hebron