Israel takes control of Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque: What this means

Published 17 June 2026 · world

Palestinians controlled planning and construction in the entire West Bank city under the 1997 Hebron Agreement. Israel has seized planning and construction powers covering the

Palestinians controlled planning and construction in the entire West Bank city under the 1997 Hebron Agreement. Israel has seized planning and construction powers covering the Ibrahimi Mosque, on the site of a Jewish and Muslim shrine in the occupied West Bank, from Palestinian authorities, scrapping parts of an agreement in place since the 1990s, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said on Tuesday. In a speech announcing the move, Smotrich said he had “abolished” the parts of the 1997 Hebron Agreement that gave the Palestinian municipal council of Hebron control of planning, zoning and construction in the H2 zone of the West Bank city. Observers have described the move as “dangerous”. “Hebron for years has been the tensest city in the West Bank,” Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, told Al Jazeera. “Any moves to change the existing arrangements in Hebron in favour of intensifying the Israeli occupation are extremely dangerous.” We break down why this is so significant. What is the Ibrahimi Mosque? All three Abrahamic faiths believe this is where Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives are buried inside the Old City of Hebron. Jews and Christians call it the Tomb – or Cave – of the Patriarchs. Muslims who, like Christians, also revere Abraham. They built the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Sanctuary of Abraham, there in the 14th century, expanding on the first-century BC outer walls built by the Roman King Herod. What has Israel announced? Smotrich, a far-right minister, said he had approved the transfer of planning and construction powers for the religious site and nearby Jewish settlers to Israeli authorities late on Monday. In a speech marking the establishment of a new Israeli settlement near Hebron in the southern West Bank, Smotrich said the “historic step” would deepen “Israeli sovereignty” in the West Bank, which Palestinians see as the heart of a future independent state. Smotrich’s decision to take over powers for planning and construction of the 20 percent of the city controlled by Israel comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved steps earlier this year to make it easier for settlers to buy land in the West Bank and give Israeli authorities more enforcement powers in the territory.

Smotrich, who has stated that he wants to eliminate any idea of Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, has backed the rapid expansion of Israeli settlements in the territory in recent years, which has been accompanied by ⁠a rise in settler attacks on Palestinians. Israeli settlers have killed 13 Palestinians in the West Bank so far this year, according to United Nations data, alongside others killed by the Israeli military. Who controlled the Ibrahimi Mosque before? The Ibrahimi Mosque falls under the 1997 Hebron Agreement, signed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, which split the city into two zones. H1 is under Palestinian control and covers about 80 percent of Hebron, while H2 is under Israeli control, covering the remaining 20 percent which includes the Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs, the adjoining Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque and the Old City. However, the agreement stipulated that the Palestinian Authority would oversee planning and construction for the entire city, including the Ibrahimi Mosque. Hebron’s Old City is recognised as a Palestinian World Heritage site by UN cultural agency UNESCO. Hundreds of Jewish settlers live among tens of thousands of Palestinians in the 20 percent of the ancient city that is under Israeli security control. Israeli settlers began to establish a growing presence in Hebron in 1968. After 1994, Israel gradually moved to assert control over the Ibrahimi Mosque site by sealing off large parts of Hebron’s Old City and the southern area around the site, then partitioning the mosque between Muslim worshippers and a few hundred Jewish settlers, and granting the settlers prayer rights there. What does this mean for the Hebron Agreement? In an apparent bid to stave off international criticism of Smotrich’s announcement about Hebron, observers say, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the 1997 Hebron Agreement had not been cancelled in its entirety. While the transfer of planning and construction powers was made on Monday night by Israel’s Higher Planning Council, Israel’s Foreign Ministry announced in a tweet that “contrary to the finance minister’s statements, the Hebron Agreement was not canceled”.