Israel expands control in Hebron amid reported quiet annexation in Gaza

Israeli officials have described a new phase of territorial control in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, while Israeli television has also reported what it called a policy of "creeping" or "quiet" annexation in Gaza. The developments were reported on 23 June and centre on moves that appear to extend Israeli authority without a formal declaration of annexation. In Hebron, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he had cancelled the 1997 Hebron Agreement and stripped the Palestinian municipality of planning authority over the Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque.

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The row says Smotrich made the claim at the inauguration of the new illegal settlement of Doran. It also says the Israeli Foreign Ministry later partially walked back the statement, saying the agreement itself had not been cancelled, but that a cabinet decision months earlier had transferred planning powers over the Jewish community and holy sites. The same source says planning authority over the H2 zone of Hebron, which contains Israeli settlements and the Ibrahimi Mosque, was now held by Israel.

The Palestinian Authority called the move illegal, while the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation warned that it undermined the city's status. Hebron is one of the most sensitive flashpoints in the occupied West Bank because of its mix of Palestinian residents, Israeli settlements and major religious sites. The Ibrahimi Mosque is central to the dispute, and control over planning and municipal authority has long been tied to wider questions of sovereignty and daily life in the city.

The reported transfer of powers therefore goes beyond a bureaucratic change and touches on the practical administration of land, construction and access in an area already marked by deep political division. The US State Department was also quoted as saying it "does not support Israel annexing the West Bank". The reported Hebron move comes against a broader backdrop of long-running contest over Palestinian land and governance.

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The 1997 Hebron Agreement was part of the framework that divided control in the city, including the H2 area, and any change to that arrangement carries legal and political weight. By saying the agreement had been cancelled, Smotrich appeared to present the shift as a formal policy change rather than an incremental administrative step. That is significant because it suggests a move from unofficial expansion on the ground to a more openly declared approach.

The same source links the Hebron announcement to developments in Gaza, where Israeli television reported that Israel had chosen a "creeping" or "quiet" annexation strategy after being blocked by the United States from a new ground offensive. According to that report, control lines were being pushed westward without formal announcement, with periodic incursions used to extend influence. The article says this was described by Israeli officials as deliberate, even if not publicly framed as annexation.

Together, the Hebron and Gaza reports point to a wider pattern of territorial consolidation across different parts of the occupied Palestinian territories. The humanitarian and legal implications are also central to the reporting. The source says the week intensified international censure, with the moves described as being in apparent contravention of international law and agreements.

It also notes that the Palestinian Authority, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the US State Department all responded in ways that underscored the sensitivity of the issue. In practical terms, changes to planning authority and control over holy sites can affect movement, construction, access and local governance for residents already living under occupation. The same report also places the Hebron announcement alongside violence in Gaza, where an Israeli strike killed Al Jazeera Mubasher cameraman Ahmed Wishah in central Gaza's Bureij refugee camp.