Israel transfers control of Hebron's Ibrahimi Mosque from Palestine
The move shifts management of the Hebron holy site to an Israeli committee, drawing Palestinian protests over a possible 1997 Protocol breach.
Israel's Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stripped Palestine of authority over the Cave of the Patriarchs complex, known to Muslims as the Ibrahimi Mosque, in Hebron, West Bank. Management of the site was transferred from the Hebron municipality to an Israeli committee under the control of the right-wing camp. Smotrich announced the step while attending the groundbreaking for a new Israeli settlement near Hebron and called it a form of "practical sovereignty." The Palestinian Authority led by Mahmud Abbas condemned the decision as a unilateral move that violates agreements with Israel and international law. The 1997 Hebron Protocol had previously given Palestine authority over most of the complex.