The Hebron Rehabilitation Committee wins the “Golden Pride” award for the World Habitat Prize 2026 in London

London - Hebron - Ofoq News - The Hebron Rehabilitation Committee won the Gold Winner - World Habitat Awards 2026, as the best housing and heritage project in the world.

The coronation came during a special event organized by the British World Habitat Foundation in cooperation with the Bartlett College of the Built Environment at UCL University, in the Senate Building in the British capital, London, to celebrate the pioneering committee’s experience in preserving the Old City.

The committee competed for the award with dozens of projects from various countries around the world, as the international jury chose the Hebron project for its integrated approach, which lasted for more than three decades, in transforming heritage into a tool for resilience, by restoring historical buildings, providing safe housing, revitalizing markets and traditional crafts, creating job opportunities, improving infrastructure, and involving the local community in protecting cultural heritage, especially after Hebron was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017.

Director General of the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee, Muhannad Al-Jaabari, said: “We thank the organizers of the award at World Habitat and UCL University, and we thank all participating countries and projects for this honorable competition. This victory is the result of the efforts of our colleagues in the committee, including engineers, administrators, workers, and technicians working in the most difficult field conditions.”

Al-Jaabari added: “Our message is clear: to preserve the cultural and humanitarian heritage of the city of Hebron for future generations, and to make a serious attempt to stop and besiege settlement expansion in the heart of the Old City. Heritage is not preserved by stone alone, but by the human being who inhabits it and protects it.”

It is noteworthy that this is the fifth award in the history of the committee since its establishment in 1996, as it previously won:

1. Aga Khan International Award for Architecture in 1998.

2. Martyr Yasser Arafat Award for Achievement in 2008.

3. World Housing Award 2013.

4. ISESCO-Natavan Award for Heritage Preservation (first place globally) in 2026.