Israel says it will return Hebron's Ibrahimi mosque, but settlers already taking over

Israeli officials have claimed that the recent Israeli takeover of administrative control at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron is a "temporary step" to enable construction works.

However, a settler council member has said that the site in the occupied West Bank will remain under settler control, raising further concerns that Israel is using routine infrastructure works as a cover for long-term colonisation of occupied Palestinian land.

According to The Times of Israel, Israel's Civil Administration - part of the military apparatus that governs the occupied West Bank - has assumed administrative control of the religious site to oversee the construction of a canopy over the Jewish prayer courtyard.

The move reportedly bypassed the Islamic Waqf and the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality, which had previously overseen the site’s day-to-day upkeep under the long-standing status quo.

Israeli authorities have insisted the administrative change is temporary and will be reversed after construction is complete.

However, The Times of Israel also reported that "a member of the Kiryat Arba settler council said the body would take over the site's daily operations," directly contradicting the claim of a short-term shift in control.

This discrepancy appears to validate earlier warnings reported by The New Arab last week, when the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned what it called an “unprecedented assault” on the Ibrahimi Mosque.

The ministry accused Israel of "Judaizing" the site and implementing a creeping policy of annexation through administrative and physical encroachment.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs, is one of the most sacred religious sites in the region. Revered by Muslims, Christians, and Jews alike, it is believed to house the tombs of the prophets Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their wives.

The structure has stood for centuries as a mosque, though it has been divided between Jews and Muslims following the 1967 Israeli occupation of the West Bank.

In 1994, an extremist Israeli settler massacred 29 Muslim worshippers at the mosque. Today, the site remains deeply contested, symbolising the broader struggle over sovereignty and presence in Hebron.

While Israeli officials have framed the move as a neutral step to carry out structural improvements - including shade, toilets, and safety infrastructure - Palestinian and international critics argue these "renovations" serve as a pretext for entrenching settler control.

The same justification was used to install an elevator at the mosque in a previous project launched in 2020 and completed in 2023. That move also saw Israeli authorities sideline the Waqf and Hebron Municipality, despite the site's protected legal status and its importance to the Muslim community.

The Ibrahimi Mosque is one of the most heavily militarised religious sites in the West Bank.

Located in Hebron's Old City, it is surrounded by checkpoints and patrolled by hundreds of Israeli soldiers. A small but ideologically extreme settler population backed by the Israeli military is also illegally present in the area, while Palestinian residents face severe movement restrictions and frequent incursions.

The latest developments have sparked fears that the site’s partial division is being gradually undone, with the Waqf’s authority eroded and Israeli settlers moving closer to full control.