Israel seizes planning powers around Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque

Israel has taken planning and construction powers covering the area around Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque from Palestinian authorities, in a move that affects the H2 zone of the occupied West Bank city. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the change effectively abolishes parts of the 1997 Hebron Agreement that had given the Palestinian municipal council control over zoning and construction in that area. The announcement concerns a site that is central to one of the most sensitive and contested places in the West Bank.

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Smotrich 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, he described the move as a "historic step" that would deepen Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank. The row says the decision applies to the 20% of the city controlled by Israel, and that it comes after earlier steps by Israel's security cabinet to make it easier for settlers to buy land and to give Israeli authorities more enforcement powers in the territory.

The immediate effect is to remove Palestinian control over planning, zoning and construction in part of Hebron, a city long described as one of the tensest in the West Bank. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, said any move to change the existing arrangements in Hebron in favour of intensifying the Israeli occupation would be extremely dangerous. The announcement is also significant because it touches a site revered by Jews, Muslims and Christians, and because it alters a long-standing administrative arrangement that has shaped daily life and development in the city for decades.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Sanctuary of Abraham, stands in Hebron's Old City at a place that all three Abrahamic faiths associate with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives. The supplied material says Jews and Christians call it the Tomb, or Cave, of the Patriarchs, while Muslims revere Abraham and built the mosque there in the 14th century over earlier Roman-era walls. That layered religious importance helps explain why changes to control around the site carry legal, political and security implications well beyond a local planning dispute.

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The 1997 Hebron Agreement is central to understanding the current dispute. Under that arrangement, Palestinians controlled planning and construction in the city, while Israel retained control over the H2 area, which includes the most sensitive parts of Hebron. Smotrich's statement that he had "abolished" the relevant parts of the agreement suggests a direct challenge to the administrative framework that has governed the city since the 1990s.

The move also fits into a broader pattern of Israeli policy changes in the West Bank that have increased pressure on Palestinian administrative control. The supplied material says Netanyahu's security cabinet earlier this year approved steps to make it easier for settlers to buy land and to expand Israeli enforcement powers in the territory. Smotrich, described in the row as a far-right minister, has also said he wants to eliminate any idea of Palestinian statehood, which gives the announcement wider political significance.

For Palestinians, the decision is likely to be seen as another reduction in their ability to shape development in a city already divided by Israeli control and settlement presence. For Israeli authorities and settlers, it may be presented as a consolidation of control around a site they regard as historically and religiously significant. The practical consequences could include changes to building approvals, zoning decisions and future construction near the mosque and surrounding neighbourhoods.

What remains unclear is how quickly the new powers will be implemented and whether there will be any formal legal challenge or diplomatic response. The supplied material does not say whether Palestinian officials have issued a direct response, or whether the change will alter access arrangements at the site itself. What to watch next is whether the decision leads to new construction activity, further administrative changes in Hebron, or wider reactions across the occupied West Bank.