President Isaac Herzog visited the city of Hebron on Sunday to mark the first night of Hanukkah with a candle-lighting ceremony at the Tomb of the Patriarchs.
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Also attending the ceremony, held despite scathing criticism by left-wing parties, were head of Hebron's Jewish community Hillel Horowitz, Kiryat Arba Mayor Eliyahu Libman, several prominent rabbis, senior military and police officials, and dozens of local residents.
Herzog said he was visiting the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron to celebrate the ancient city's Jewish past and promote interfaith relations.
"The historical connection of the Jewish people to Hebron, to the Cave of the Patriarchs, to the heritage of mothers and fathers is unquestionable," Herzog said, further asserting that "recognition of this connection should be beyond all controversy."
During his address, Herzog touched on his personal ties to the city, explaining his great-great-grandmother once lived there and survived the 1929 Hebron massacre, where over 65 Jews were killed by Arab riots.
"I have no doubt that she would have been very moved by the fact that one of her descendants is lighting Hanukkah candles in the Cave of the Patriarchs as the president of the state of Israel," he said.
Hebron is a major flashpoint city in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the Cave of the Patriarchs is a particularly sensitive area.
The cavern is believed to be the burial site of the Jewish and Muslim patriarch Abraham. It also is revered as the burial site of other Jewish patriarchs and matriarchs and is considered the second holiest site in Judaism.
The site, sacred to both Jews and Muslims, hosts both a synagogue and a mosque. The latter was the site of a brutal killing spree in 1994, when religious extremist Baruch Goldstein opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing 29 people and wounding 125.
Right-wing officials lauded the president for choosing to usher in the Jewish festival of lights at the holy site.
Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich tweeted, "President Herzog, in the name of the people of Israel throughout the generations, in the name of our fathers and holy mothers, I want to say thank you.
"The light and heroism of the days of Hanukkah shine intensely from the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and send light throughout our entire country. Happy Hanukkah."
Herzog's visit to the site drew criticism from left-wing factions and Palestinian officials and both accused the president of embracing the most radical elements of Israeli society.
Several dozen Israeli protesters from left-wing NGO Peace Now, accompanied by Meretz MK Mossi Raz, gathered about near the cave screaming "shame" as the president made his way into the case. Security forces held them back, preventing them from entering the site.
Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli combat soldiers who oppose Israel's policies in the West Bank, accused Herzog of "giving an official seal of approval to this obscene reality and the people perpetuating it."
Hussein Al Sheikh, a top Palestinian official, called the visit "a political, moral and religious provocation."
Clashes erupted between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Hebron shortly after President Isaac Herzog's visit.
Palestinian media said the riot took place near a checkpoint between the Palestinian and Israeli sections of the city.
On Saturday, Hamas warned that Herzog's visit to the site could trigger an escalation in violence, calling it a provocation" and an "attack," and warning that any violence that ensues would be Israel's fault.
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