Israeli War Minister Israel Katz has decided to revoke the planning and construction authority of the Palestinian municipality of occupied Al-Khalil (Hebron) over the Ibrahimi Mosque, transferring these powers to the Israeli Civil Administration in a move widely seen as part of an ongoing Judaization campaign targeting one of Islam’s holiest sites.

Israeli media reports said the decision removes the Hebron Municipality’s long-standing planning jurisdiction within the Ibrahimi Mosque compound and hands it over entirely to the Israeli Civil Administration, the body that oversees settlement expansion and administrative control in the occupied West Bank. According to the reports, the move will pave the way for the implementation of new projects at the site, including the installation of roofs over parts of the mosque.

In the same context, the so-called Higher Planning and Building Council within the Israeli Civil Administration approved the initiation of procedures to obtain permits for the construction of new roofing structures at the Ibrahimi Mosque. Palestinian officials and rights groups warn that such projects are not merely infrastructural but form part of a broader effort to alter the historical, religious, and legal character of the mosque.

The decision was openly welcomed by settler leaders. Israel Brimson, head of the Kiryat Arba settlement council in Hebron, described the move as the culmination of years of efforts to strip the Palestinian municipality of all religious and administrative authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque, a statement that has further fueled Palestinian concerns over systematic attempts to assert Israeli control over the sacred site.

Palestinians view the move as a grave violation of international law and existing agreements governing the status of holy places in occupied territory. The Ibrahimi Mosque, a UNESCO-listed site, has long been a focal point of tension since the 1994 massacre, after which Israel imposed strict divisions and restrictions on Palestinian worshippers while expanding settler access and control.

Palestinian leaders and civil society organizations have condemned the decision, warning that it represents another step toward the gradual annexation and Judaization of Hebron and its Islamic heritage, and calling on the international community to intervene to protect Palestinian rights and holy sites in the occupied West Bank. (ILKHA)