Behind Israel’s Dangerous Move to Seize Control of Hebron’s Masjid Ibrahimi

The Israeli government has unilaterally declared it will take over planning and construction authority for the Masjid Ibrahimi area in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, from the Palestinian authorities. This move simultaneously annuls part of the Hebron Agreement, which has been in place since the 1990s.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, announced on Tuesday local time that he had “erased” a section of the 1997 Hebron Agreement. The removed clause previously granted the Palestinian Municipal Council in Hebron the right to control planning, zoning, and construction in Zone H2—the part of the city under Israeli security control.

International observers have described Israel’s unilateral step as an “extremely dangerous” decision. “For years, Hebron has been the city with the highest level of tension in the West Bank,” said Chris Doyle, Director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, to Al Jazeera. “Any move that alters the existing order in Hebron to strengthen the Israeli occupation is a very dangerous act.”

Masjid Ibrahimi, located in Hebron’s Old City, is a holy site revered by the three Abrahamic faiths (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism). The site is believed to be the tomb of the Prophet Abraham, Prophet Isaac, Prophet Jacob, and their wives. For Jews and Christians, the site is known as the Tomb or Cave of the Patriarchs. For Muslims, the holy place was built into the Masjid Ibrahimi (Sanctuary of Abraham) in the 14th century, extending the outer walls originally constructed by the Roman King Herod in the first century BC.

Historically, the complex has frequently been a flashpoint for violence. In 1994, an extremist Jewish settler of American-Israeli descent carried out a massacre, shooting dead 29 Muslim worshippers as they prayed inside the mosque and injuring 125 others.