Israel advances land-control moves in Gaza and the West Bank
Israeli forces and officials have advanced a series of land-control and construction measures in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, according to the supplied report. The developments include work at Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque, new steps tied to settlement planning in northern Gaza, and the westward movement of control markers inside Gaza. Together, the actions point to a further tightening of physical and administrative control in areas at the centre of the conflict.
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At the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, heavy machinery entered the site and steel beams were installed over the open courtyard. The mosque's director said the work amounted to a fundamental change to the historic character of the ancient site. Israeli authorities have also blocked the Muslim call to prayer there for about a week and a half, according to the report.
In Gaza, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the Settlement Administration he heads had completed plans for three settlements in the north of the Strip. He called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to approve them. The report also says Israeli forces pushed cement markers on the so-called Yellow Line further west, expanding the area under Israeli control.
The measures matter because they affect territory, access and the status of places that are already deeply contested. In Hebron, the Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the most sensitive religious sites in the occupied West Bank, and any structural change there is likely to draw close scrutiny. In Gaza, settlement planning and the movement of control markers suggest a shift from rhetoric to physical changes on the ground.
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The report places these steps within a broader pattern described as quiet annexation and entrenchment of settlement infrastructure. Earlier this month, Israeli ministers had spoken in terms of intent, including Smotrich's announcement of the "cancellation" of the Hebron Accords and reports of cabinet plans for quiet annexation in Gaza. The latest actions are presented as the first visible construction linked to that approach.
The same report also says Israeli authorities declared 465 dunums of land near Sinjil, north of Ramallah, as state land, a move the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said was meant to retroactively legalise the Givat Haroeh outpost. It adds that settlers carved new bypass roads on private Palestinian land near Kobar and Beitillu and erected fencing for a new outpost between al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya and Kafr Malek. What remains unclear is whether the Gaza settlement plans will receive formal approval, how far the Hebron works will go, and whether further land designations or construction steps will follow in the coming days.
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