Israeli authorities have transferred administrative control over the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of al-Khalil from the Palestinian-run municipality to a religious council in the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement, in what Israeli media is calling an “unprecedented” shift in the status quo.

According to a report by Israel Hayom on Tuesday, the Israeli Civil Administration, an arm of the occupation's military governance, reassigned authority over the historic site to the settler council adjacent to the mosque, which would facilitate alterations to the mosque's layout, including roof construction and control over areas used by Israeli settlers.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, also known as the Cave of the Patriarchs, is located in the Old City of al-Khalil, an area under full control of the Israeli occupation, where approximately 400 settlers live guarded by more than 1,500 Israeli soldiers. Dozens of military checkpoints fragment Palestinian life around the site.

First major decision in decades

This latest move would mark the first major administrative shift at the mosque since the occupation's decision in 1994 to partition the site, which granted 63% access to Jewish settlers and 37% to Muslim worshippers, following the massacre carried out by extremist settler Baruch Goldstein, who killed 29 Palestinians during Fajr prayer.

Though the decision has not yet been officially implemented, Israel Hayom described it as “a great development for the settlement enterprise” and a step toward broader structural and religious changes at the mosque. These changes reportedly include the re-roofing of the site and expansions in areas used primarily by settlers, such as "Jacob’s Courtyard".

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a strong condemnation, calling the decision a blatant violation of international law and UN resolutions. The Ministry warned that the move was a calculated step toward Judaizing the mosque and erasing its Islamic identity.

Repeat land seizures in al-Khalil

In a separate statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs emphasized that the Ibrahimi Mosque remains an exclusive Islamic endowment (waqf), denouncing "Israeli attempts to transform the mosque into a synagogue under the guise of structural renovation."

The ministry also called on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the broader international community to urgently intervene and halt the implementation of the decision, warning of broader implications for all Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Palestine.

In the latest escalation of its settlement expansion campaign, "Israel" has issued a military order on Saturday to seize over five dunums of land in the al-Khalil governorate, as reported by WAFA news. The targeted area lies near the outskirts of Sa’ir and al-Shuyoukh towns and will be used to construct a road exclusively for settlers, connecting the illegal settlements of Asfar and Pnei Kedem.

The land seizure was authorized under the pretext of "military and security purposes," allowing for the creation of new infrastructure aimed at facilitating settler movement while severely restricting Palestinian access.

Thousands of square meters seized

According to the Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission, the seized land includes both areas previously declared as private Palestinian property. Approximately 4.9 dunums are designated specifically for the road’s construction, marking another step in expanding the settler corridor in the region.

The al-Khalil land seizure is part of a broader pattern of intensifying land seizures by Israeli occupation authorities in 2025. The Commission confirmed that this marks the 40th military seizure order issued this year alone.