23 days · 11 summary articles
Israel seized control of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron from Palestinian authorities on Tuesday, a unilateral move condemned by Hebron’s mayor as a breach of agreements that risks destabilising the occupied West Bank. The decision, announced by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, transfers management of the site—sacred to Jews, Christians and Muslims—to Israeli authorities, ending a decades-old status quo that had largely left the mosque under Palestinian administration since the 1997 Hebron Protocol .
The shift comes as Israeli drone strikes in southern Lebanon killed at least four people on Tuesday, according to Lebanese authorities and multiple reports, despite an initial US-Iran agreement signed in a Swiss luxury resort earlier the same day to halt military escalations across the region . The strikes targeted vehicles in Mayfadoun and the nearby town of Choukine, in Nabatieh governorate, the Lebanese National News Agency reported .
Hebron’s mayor, Tayseer Abu Sneineh, warned that the takeover of the Ibrahimi Mosque violates the 1997 protocol and undermines stability, while Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on the international community to intervene . Smotrich, a far-right minister, framed the move as a restoration of Israeli sovereignty over a contested holy site, but critics argue it further erodes Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank .
The developments unfold against a backdrop of renewed regional tensions. China urged restraint on Tuesday, emphasising that Lebanon’s sovereignty must not be infringed upon despite the US-Iran accord . Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who announced his candidacy for re-election on Tuesday, faces criticism over the escalation in Lebanon, where the economic toll of the latest conflict with Hezbollah has already mounted .
Analysts warn that the simultaneous moves in Hebron and Lebanon risk deepening regional instability, with Palestinian leaders vowing to challenge the mosque takeover through international channels and Lebanese officials condemning the continued Israeli strikes as violations of the fledgling US-Iran deal .
2 further sources not geolocated