Exactly 32 years after the 1994 massacre, the Hebron site faces tighter Israeli control, restricted worship and escalating threats to its Islamic character
When an Israeli settler killed dozens of Palestinian worshippers during Ramadan at the Ibrahimi Mosque in 1994, the shock reverberated far beyond Hebron.
The massacre marked a tragic turning point for the sacred site in the occupied West Bank and its Islamic identity.
In its aftermath, Israel tightened its grip, consolidating control over the mosque and imposing ever-escalating restrictions on Muslims.
Now, 32 years on, the atmosphere inside the mosque feels bleaker than ever.
Hosni al-Rajbi, 74, was one of the 125 Palestinians who were wounded during the massacre but survived. Today, he resolutely continues to pray at the ancient site, propped up by a wooden cane.
Pausing in a covered alleyway as he leaves the mosque, Rajbi says Ramadan night prayers this year are weighed down with an anguish about the fate of the mosque, Hebron and Palestine.
The strain felt by the community is even worse than after the massacre three decades ago, he says.
Barely any worshippers are able to reach the mosque because of Israeli restrictions and harassment.
Essential Ramadan supplies – water and dates – are barred from entry. Vacuum cleaners are prohibited, leaving staff struggling to maintain the space. Some imams are refused access altogether.
Meanwhile, a raft of new decisions by the Israeli government are endangering the site and its Palestinian and Islamic nature like never before.
“It’s very difficult times,” Rajbi tells Middle East Eye.
Earlier this month, Israel advanced measures granting it civil and administrative powers in Palestinian cities – steps widely viewed as entrenching de facto annexation.
Hebron, with the Ibrahimi Mosque at its heart, was directly affected by the new measures.
Many Palestinians view the changes as the culmination of a decades-long campaign to transform the mosque into a synagogue.
Now, they fear that prospect no longer feels remote.
“The situation of the mosque is regrettable, as if we’re not in normal days. The suffering is immense,” Rajbi says.
“We do not like to show people the extent of what we endure, but there is daily suffering.”
Occupation
The site of Ibrahimi Mosque is revered by Muslims, Christians and Jews alike.
Also known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs, it is believed to be the burial place of Abraham – the shared patriarch of the three faiths – as well as his son Isaac and grandson Jacob.
The structure was first built as a Christian basilica during Byzantine rule. In the seventh century, under Islamic rule, it was converted into a mosque and remained so for several centuries except during the Crusader era.
That began to shift after Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza Strip in 1967.
Soon after Hebron was captured, a synagogue was established within the mosque complex.
From the late 1960s onwards, the settlement of Kiryat Arba was constructed on confiscated Palestinian land on the outskirts of the Old City, near the mosque.
The settlement’s expansion brought a heavier military presence, along with rising settler violence against Palestinians and repeated incursions into the mosque.
In 1972, Jewish prayers were held at the site for the first time, despite Palestinian objections.
Tensions simmered for years, marked by repeated attempts by settlers to assert greater control.
They reached a devastating climax on 25 February 1994 – the 15th day of Ramadan.
Turning point
As worshippers gathered for the pre-dawn Fajr prayer, an Israeli settler from Kiryat Arba, dressed in military uniform, entered the mosque and opened fire on the roughly 800 Palestinians inside.
Twenty-nine people were killed. More than 125 were wounded. It was one of the deadliest settler attacks against Palestinians.
The massacre marked a grim turning point – not only for Palestinians, but for the mosque’s Islamic character.
In its aftermath, the mosque was closed for nine months. No call to prayer was heard. No prayers were held.
The Israeli government later distanced itself from the attack and established a unilateral commission of inquiry. Its recommendations led to the partition of the site between Muslims and Jews.
Two-thirds of the prayer space was allocated to Jewish worshippers; the remaining third to Muslims.
Jews were granted full access on 10 Jewish holidays each year, when Muslims were barred entirely.
Muslims were allotted 10 days on Islamic holidays to access the whole site, though this arrangement has not always been upheld in practice.
Al-Shuhada Street, the main artery leading to the mosque and once the commercial heart of Hebron, was closed. It has remained shuttered ever since.
All other entrances to the mosque were placed under heavily guarded military control. Worshippers passing through are subjected to routine searches.
A special protocol introduced after the massacre further curtailed religious practice. The sunset adhan is banned daily, with additional restrictions at certain times on Saturdays.
Even the muezzin is now escorted by Israeli soldiers before delivering the call to prayer.
In effect, the massacre reshaped the mosque into a divided space, says its director, Sheikh Moataz Abu Sneineh.
“A metal door separates Muslim worshippers from settlers,” he explains.
“At times, loud celebrations and Talmudic prayers take place alongside Muslim prayers.”
Divided Hebron
In 1997, Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed the Hebron Protocol, dividing the city into two administrative zones: H1, under Palestinian Authority control, and H2, under Israeli control.
H2 covers around 20 per cent of the city. It includes all Israeli settlements in Hebron, home to roughly 700 settlers. All settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are considered illegal under international law.
Around 40,000 Palestinians also live in H2. The area encompasses Hebron’s Old City and the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Under direct Israeli control, Palestinians in H2 face some of the most stringent movement restrictions in the West Bank.
According to the United Nations, more than 100 physical obstacles fragment the area, including 20 permanently staffed checkpoints and 14 partial checkpoints separating the settlement enclaves from the rest of the city.
The approximately 700 settlers are protected by around 2,000 soldiers deployed in the city.
Some streets are designated for settlers only. Palestinian pedestrians are barred, forcing them to take long and circuitous routes.
Once-bustling markets have withered. Nearly 1,500 shops have closed, around 500 of them by military order.
The Israeli human rights group B’Tselem describes the system as a “principle of separation”.
Under the Hebron Protocol, civil affairs for Palestinians in H2 were meant to remain the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.
Management of the Ibrahimi Mosque stayed with the Islamic waqf and Hebron Municipality, both aligned with the PA.
This arrangement has allowed Palestinians to retain a measure of authority, at times blocking Israeli attempts to alter the mosque or its surroundings.
Citing what it described as Israeli violations and efforts to change the site’s character, the Palestinian Authority requested that Unesco place Hebron’s Old City, including the mosque, on its List of World Heritage in Danger. The designation was granted in 2017.
Unesco said the site was “vulnerable due to the ongoing activities carried out by Israel”, including “construction of settlements, archaeological excavations, mobility and access restrictions”.
‘Control and domination’
Hebron’s Old City is a knot of ancient Palestinian homes and markets, thoroughfares that only Israeli settlers and foreign tourists can access, and imposing military checkpoints and barriers where soldiers harass residents struggling to perform the most simple daily tasks.
Prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque is one of these everyday routines that Israel makes near impossible.
Despite the Palestinian efforts, Israeli settlers and authorities have continued consolidating control over the Ibrahimi Mosque, undermining the PA and the waqf’s authority.
In 2017, Israel announced a plan to install an elevator inside the mosque complex, even though construction responsibilities lie with the Palestinian municipal authorities and the area belongs to the Islamic waqf.
These efforts intensified after the 7 October attacks and the subsequent Israeli genocide in Gaza.
“The scale of assaults and violations since then exceeds anything we’ve seen since the 1994 massacre,” said Abu Sneineh
“There’s an acceleration in attempts at control and domination.”
Today, Palestinians are only able to pass through one of the mosque’s entrances, which Israel shuts for much of the day.
With so many roads closed off to Palestinian residents, worshippers often take circuitous, strenuous and occasionally dangerous routes to the mosque.
At the checkpoint to enter the Ibrahimi Mosque, the queue moves at a glacial pace. Men, women and children shuffle forward as the turnstile swings to the whim of the heavily armed soldiers manning it.
Sometimes women are trapped halfway through, left in a cage without knowing why or for how long.
As they wait, the adhan comes and goes. The delays mean that, despite leaving plenty of time, many of these Palestinians will miss the prayer time.
“They do it all the time to make us miss the prayers,” an elderly man says with exasperation.
Inside the mosque, worshippers are sparse – a shocking sight for such a revered site during Ramadan.
According to Abu Sneineh, the number of worshippers reaching it has dropped by roughly 50 per cent, as access has become so difficult, especially with al-Shuhada Street closed since 1994.
Mosque staff and custodians have also been directly targeted, facing bans, beatings, insults and work restrictions. Abu Sneineh himself has endured some of these measures.
Last month, he and the head of the mosque’s custodians, Hammam Abu Marakhia, were handed a 15-day ban from the mosque without explanation. Such bans, which can be extended indefinitely, have become routine.
While this was Abu Sneineh’s third ban since early 2025, it was the first written order issued against a mosque employee or custodian.
“All of this is part of a systematic effort to remove the mosque’s administration and strip it of its religious authority,” he said.
In April 2025, locks were placed on some rooms and gates, aiming for full control over the site.
Other violations since October 2023 include extended bans on the call to prayer, settlers carrying firearms inside the mosque, and loud evening celebrations, including weddings, held in the mosque courtyards.
Power grab
However, the most consequential measures against the Ibrahimi Mosque came earlier this month.
On 8 February, Israel announced sweeping changes to governance in the West Bank, expanding its civilian authority in areas it has ruled under military law since the 1967 occupation. Critics say the steps amount to de facto annexation, even without a formal declaration.
Hebron was explicitly referenced in the decisions. Under the new measures, building permits and construction approvals in the city were transferred from the Palestinian Authority to the Israeli military.
The move followed a series of smaller decisions that had already chipped away at Palestinian authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque.
In July, the military said it would unilaterally assume certain municipal powers from Hebron Municipality to advance plans to construct a roof over the mosque’s internal courtyard, a project firmly rejected by Palestinians.
Israeli media reported at the time that those municipal powers would be handed to the Kiryat Arba settlement. Although the reports were later downplayed, Abu Sneineh told MEE they may have been intended to test Palestinian reaction before formal steps were taken.
Peace Now, an Israeli organisation that monitors settlement expansion, warned that Israel was “playing with fire and with the security of us all”.
The group said the measures would allow structural changes to the mosque without Palestinian coordination or consent – a move it described as a violation of international agreements to which Israel is a signatory.
The formal decisions were also preceded by restrictions on the ground, according to Abu Sneineh.
The army had already been limiting access to electricity, water and sewage services, while preventing the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee from carrying out restoration work for years.
Ahead of Ramadan, mosque staff were unable to bring in basic provisions such as dates and water due to strict inspections at the gates.
Abu Sneineh said he was even cautioned against allowing journalists to conduct interviews inside the mosque.
Now, with planning and construction powers officially transferred from the Palestinian Authority to Israel, fears are mounting that physical alterations to the mosque could accelerate.
Legal objections have been filed in Israeli courts, Abu Sneineh said. But he warned that “the occupation is racing against time to impose new realities on the ground”.
“We affirm our adherence to our right to this place, and our rejection of any change to its religious or historical features, and our steadfast presence there despite all procedures and violations,” he said.
“But there is no power nor strength for us except through God.”
