Amid ongoing regional upheaval, Israel has quietly passed one of its most dangerous decisions concerning Islamic holy sites since the 1948 Nakba. In mid-July, the Netanyahu government announced the revocation of administrative authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron from the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Hebron Municipality, transferring it instead to the religious council of the Kiryat Arba settlement.
This declaration is the culmination of a decades-long process of gradual Israeli control over the Ibrahimi Mosque, which began after the occupation of Hebron in 1967. Although Hebron was placed under military occupation and not formally annexed like Jerusalem, the Ibrahimi Mosque was treated exceptionally. While Israel avoided targeting other West Bank mosques to prevent Palestinian backlash, it made the Ibrahimi Mosque an exception.
On the eve of occupation, IDF Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren stormed the mosque, closed its gates, and performed Jewish prayers inside — setting a precedent for future Israeli policy. Israel claimed exclusive Jewish rights to the mosque, citing the burial sites of the prophets Ibrahim, Isaac, and Jacob (peace be upon them).
The Israeli Civil Administration subsequently granted the mosque a “special status,” initially allowing Jews to pray on specific holy days. This was later expanded into daily time allocations — what is now known as “temporal division” of the mosque.
Despite Palestinian rejection and resistance, Israeli pressure and the absence of meaningful Arab and Islamic responses facilitated Israel’s ability to entrench its policies and normalise them over time.
Eventually, the concept of temporal division between Muslims and Jews was imposed on the mosque, designating certain hours for Jewish entry and others for Muslims, with entire days during Jewish holidays exclusively allocated to Jewish worshippers.
A turning point came on the morning of 15 Ramadan (25 February 1994), when 29 Palestinians were massacred inside the mosque by the extremist Baruch Goldstein. Following six months of closure, the Israeli Shamgar Commission concluded with a decision to spatially divide the mosque — rather than restricting the attackers — effectively rewarding the aggressors.
Over the next 16 years, settler control gradually increased. Muslim access to the mosque became increasingly restricted, often under pretexts of “security,” with weeks or even months of full denial of entry.
On 21 February 2010, Israel made a major move by declaring the Ibrahimi Mosque a part of its “Jewish Heritage” list — legally reclassifying the site as a synagogue where Muslims are permitted to pray, rather than a mosque where Jews are permitted entry.
Despite this reclassification, administrative control remained nominally with the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments for nearly 58 years. But now, following 15 years of that 2010 decision, Israel has taken the final step: stripping Palestinian institutions of their role and handing full authority over the mosque to the religious council of the Kiryat Arba settlement.
A Dangerous Decision with Far-Reaching Consequences
This decision goes far beyond administrative changes — it represents a seismic shift in two critical areas:
1. Advancing West Bank Annexation
This move is a practical step toward implementing the annexation project pushed by far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the ideological architect of Israel’s settler movement. With this declaration, Israel is signalling that Kiryat Arba is no longer considered an “occupied military zone” under international law, but a recognised and integral part of Israel’s sovereign domain.
The decision is also a full realisation of the 2010 declaration that the Ibrahimi Mosque is “Jewish heritage.” That move triggered serious consequences at the time that few noticed — such as Netanyahu’s 2012 decision to construct a settler road connecting the mosque directly to Kiryat Arba. That road was built without significant resistance.
By transferring control to a settler religious council, Netanyahu’s government is legitimising these fabricated settler institutions, even over the state’s official rabbinical establishment. This strengthens radical settler religious bodies and encourages the vision — long-held by religious Zionist factions — of a “state within a state.” In the event of internal unrest within Israel, many observers believe these groups could break away to form an independent theocratic entity.
2. A Blueprint for Al-Aqsa Mosque
This decision is also a test case for what Israel aims to replicate at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. For decades, Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque has served as Israel’s laboratory for religious division and Judaic encroachment — a model it now seeks to apply to Al-Aqsa.
The slow, 58-year-long process of undermining the Ibrahimi Mosque — now crowned with full settler control — is being rapidly duplicated in Al-Aqsa. The only difference is speed.
While it took 27 years of temporal division at the Ibrahimi Mosque to reach spatial partition in 1994, and another 31 years for Israel to declare full sovereignty and transfer administration to settlers, the pace of events at Al-Aqsa is accelerating.
Since 2015, right-wing and religious Zionist groups have aggressively pushed for temporal division of Al-Aqsa. In 2023, Likud MP Amit Halevi became the first to publicly call for spatial division, proposing the construction of a synagogue within the Al-Aqsa compound. This proposal is now gaining momentum.
Today, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, along with major settler leaders, is openly demanding its implementation.
Ben Gvir appears motivated to outdo Smotrich on this issue, and while the latest decision may have taken place in Hebron, its true impact lies in Jerusalem — where its consequences are already unfolding.
Just days after the Hebron decision, Jerusalem Affairs Minister Meir Porush (United Torah Judaism) issued orders to confiscate around 20 Palestinian properties along the Chain Gate path leading to Al-Aqsa and annex them to the adjacent Jewish Quarter. This happened just one day before his resignation from the government over a Haredi draft crisis.
This land grab solidifies Israeli control over Chain Gate, following the long-standing grip over the Moroccan Gate. It lays the groundwork for forcibly clearing Palestinians from the area, ensuring minimal resistance if Israel decides to seize parts of the mosque to construct a synagogue — a goal Ben Gvir continues to advocate.
A Critical Juncture for Al-Aqsa
These recent moves point toward unprecedented attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque. Buoyed by their success in Hebron, radical Zionist groups are poised to escalate their efforts.
The next flashpoint is set for Sunday, August 3, which coincides with the annual observance of “Tisha B’Av” — the so-called “Destruction of the Temple” commemoration. Historically, this period has marked peak aggression toward Al-Aqsa by temple groups and settler factions, who may exploit the moment to press forward with dramatic changes on the ground.
A Call for Action Beyond Condemnation
The implications of Israel’s decision regarding the Ibrahimi Mosque must not pass in silence. Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims cannot afford to settle for mere condemnation, press statements, or symbolic outrage.
Unless the occupation is made to feel the true cost of these violations, it will be emboldened to push even further.
The responsibility now rests squarely with our people — the ball is in our court.
