Israel takes planning control of Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque from Palestinians
Israel has stripped Palestinian authorities of planning and construction powers over the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, Al Jazeera reported . The decision was made Monday night by Israel’s Higher Planning Council and announced the next day by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich. It reverses a provision of the 1997 Hebron Agreement, under which Israel held security control of the area while Palestinians retained civil authority over the site.
The Palestinian Authority called the move a violation of signed agreements, and Hebron Mayor Yusuf al-Jabari warned of “far-reaching consequences.” The Israeli group Peace Now condemned it as “dangerous and irresponsible.” Palestinians see the step as part of a broader pattern of de facto annexation in the occupied West Bank; transferring control over a contested holy site, long divided between worshippers and settlers, makes physical changes to the structure more likely and is a recurrent flashpoint for wider unrest.