The Wall Street Journal on Sunday revealed a letter sent by the most influential tribal leader in the city, which calls for cooperation with Israel. “We want coexistence,” said from his tent Sheikh Wadee al-Jaabari, "Abu Sanad."

Al-Jaabari has previously expressed support for coexistence, as did his father—but this time it’s different. He and four other sheikhs from Hebron signed a letter calling for peace and for recognizing Israel as a Jewish state. According to the letter, their goal is for Hebron to secede from the Palestinian Authority, establish its own emirate, and join the Abraham Accords.

The letter was sent to Economy Minister Nir Barkat, who met at his home with al-Jaabari and the other sheikhs; he has held more than 12 meetings with them since February. They asked him to forward the letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and are now waiting for his response.

In the letter, the sheikhs wrote that “The Emirate of Hebron shall recognize the State of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people and the State of Israel shall recognize the Emirate of Hebron as the Representative of the Arab residents in the Hebron District.” Recognizing Israel as a Jewish state is something the Palestinian Authority has never done.