Fri 02 January 2026:

The Israeli military has seized municipal powers over Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque from Palestinians in a move widely seen as undermining Islamic administration of the site.

On Wednesday, the Israeli Civil Administration, a military body overseeing the occupied West Bank, announced it had transferred planning powers from the Palestinian Authority-run Hebron Municipality to its own Supreme Planning Council.

The move was followed by the granting of permission to construct a roof over the mosque’s internal courtyard, despite fierce Palestinian opposition.

Hebron Municipality condemned the decision, calling it a “serious and illegal violation” and part of a systemic attack on the status quo at the mosque and the powers of Palestinian authorities tasked with its management.

“This is a clear violation of international law and existing agreements,” the municipality said, accusing Israel of stripping Palestinian institutions of their planning and construction rights in favour of the Israeli Civil Administration.

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Palestinian foreign ministry condemns

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Israel’s decision to strip Hebron Municipality of its authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque saying that it marks a dangerous escalation and a direct assault on the site’s legal and historical status.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the ministry slammed Israel’s move to revoke Palestinian planning and construction powers at the mosque and hand them to the occupation authorities. It also criticised Israel’s unilateral approval of a project to roof the mosque’s courtyard, calling it a clear breach of international law and Israel’s obligations as an occupying power.

The ministry said the seizure of authority from the municipality and the Islamic Waqf exposes Israel’s real aim: tightening control over the mosque and forcibly altering the long-standing status quo as part of wider Judaization policies in the occupied West Bank.

It pointed to Unesco’s 2017 decision to list Hebron’s Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque as World Heritage in Danger under the State of Palestine, underlining that Israel has no sovereignty over the site.

The ministry said the decision lacks any legal legitimacy and pledged continued diplomatic and legal action to protect the mosque from unilateral Israeli measures.