‘Israel’ Expands Control Over the Ibrahimi Mosque—A Trial Run for al-Aqsa?

In Ramadan 2025, “Israel” moved to take full control of Islamic holy sites in the occupied Palestinian territories, advancing the far-right’s agenda.

By escalating violations, it aims to assert sovereignty over major mosques—especially al-Aqsa and the Ibrahimi Mosque—and strip them from Islamic endowments as part of its Judaization plans.

Seizure of the Mosque

In February 2025, coinciding with Ramadan, “Israel” stripped the Palestinian endowments of their authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, West Bank, handing oversight to the Israeli Civil Administration. This move signifies Israeli Occupation’s intent to fully take control of the mosque, which has been divided for prayer times and spaces since the 1994 massacre when a settler opened fire on worshippers during dawn prayers, killing 29 and injuring many more.

Following the massacre, “Israel” took control of over 60% of the Ibrahimi Mosque for settlers, leaving the remainder for Muslims. “This action” is part of an ongoing effort to solidify control over the mosque, which began in 2024 when settlers seized a portion of the mosque’s courtyard, now controlling around 80% of the space. Israeli Occupation’s goal is to eventually turn the mosque into a Jewish temple, barring Muslims from entering.

This move is part of a broader Zionist campaign targeting both the Ibrahimi and al-Aqsa mosques, marked by several decisions to restrict the adhan (call to prayer) and prevent Muslims from praying at the Ibrahimi Mosque. It also mirrors the Israeli Occupation’s growing forceful presence in al-Aqsa, aiming to transform it into a Jewish prayer site and eventually build the so-called Third Temple on its grounds.

In 2005, settlers placed a tent at the mosque's courtyard, claiming it as a place of worship. Over time, the tent was expanded into a makeshift temple. Under the current Israeli government's religious war agenda, settlers began constructing a roof over this tent in 2024. Despite a temporary halt to the construction after a public backlash in Hebron, Israel resumed its efforts in Ramadan 2025, this time using the shift in oversight to facilitate the construction of the roof without protest.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments has firmly stated that the Ibrahimi Mosque is solely a Muslim religious endowment and condemned Israeli Occupation’s efforts to turn it into a Jewish synagogue.

Following Palestinian protests and demonstrations, the Israeli Occupation allowed the Palestinian endowments to manage parts of the Ibrahimi Mosque during Ramadan, fearing Muslim backlash.

However, for the second consecutive Friday on March 14, 2025, “Israel” refused to hand over the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, including its full facilities, courtyards, and gates, to the endowments. Instead, it retained control over the mosque’s courtyard and closed the eastern gate leading to it.

Oxygen Cut

The Palestinian Endowments Authority declared that the Israeli Occupation's refusal to open the eastern gate of the Ibrahimi Mosque for the second consecutive Friday prompted their rejection of taking control of the mosque in its incomplete state.

They saw this as an implicit acknowledgment of the mosque's diminished status, potentially paving the way for its gradual settlement by “Israel.”

The endowments emphasized their rightful authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque, asserting that any attempt to alter this religious and historical landmark violates their legal, religious, and political sovereignty over the sacred Islamic site, which holds profound significance for all Muslims.

They also recognized the Israeli Occupation's plans for the mosque and its ongoing efforts to assert control, aiming to transform it into a solely Jewish place of worship where Talmudic practices would be conducted.

The Palestinian Minister of Awqaf and Religious Affairs, Mohammad Najm, confirmed that the Israeli Occupation’s efforts to build a roof over the mosque’s courtyard are part of a broader attempt to convert the mosque into a fully Jewish synagogue. This also aligns with their efforts to strip the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf of its authority over the site and assert full control, erasing its religious, historical, and Islamic landmarks while disregarding the mosque's time-based and spatial division.

In a statement on March 12, 2025, Najm emphasized the Ministry's right to carry out renovations and repairs, including in the occupied parts of the mosque.

The director of Awqaf in Hebron, Ghassan Rajbi, said the Israeli goal behind stripping the Awqaf’s authority is to construct a roof over the area known as the mosque's courtyard. He further explained that this area has been designated for settlers' prayers, with the aim to impose a reality where the settlers would control it. This began with the placement of a tent in the courtyard, which eventually led to efforts to build a roof, thus taking another portion of the mosque, which is now largely under Jewish control.

Rajbi noted that the Israeli Occupation has been attempting for 31 years to cover the Ibrahimi Mosque's courtyard with a roof to alter its historical features. He pointed out that the mosque is surrounded by a large wall with no windows, making the courtyard the only area providing fresh air and ventilation to the entire complex, and it lies within the section controlled by the settlers.

Constructing a roof over the courtyard would deprive the mosque of its vital air supply, in addition to altering its historical features, marking a significant violation and assault on the mosque, according to the director.

“Israel is exploiting the ongoing war against our people in all Palestinian territories, waging a parallel war on our Islamic sacred sites by changing their features,” he concluded.

Sheikh Moataz Abu Sanina, the mosque's director, emphasized that the eastern gate, which the Israeli Occupation refuses to hand over to the Islamic endowments, is a crucial area. It contains a water well, serves as a prayer space for women, and functions as an emergency exit for worshippers.

Complete Judaization

Scholars of the Ibrahimi Mosque assert that what is happening there is part of a larger plan that began after the occupation of Jerusalem and the West Bank.

After “Israel” occupied the West Bank in 1967, it began imposing restrictions on the Ibrahimi Mosque as part of a gradual effort to take control of it and weaken the historical Muslim presence there. The Israeli Occupation then allowed settlers to perform Talmudic rituals and designated areas of the mosque for Jewish prayers.

The plans to target the Ibrahimi Mosque expanded even further when “Israel” exploited the 1990s massacre to enforce a spatial and temporal division of the mosque between Muslims and Jews.

Following the massacre, attempts were made to expel Muslims from the mosque, seize complete control of it, and alter its features, as well as the entire area, as part of efforts to Judaize Hebron, the second most important Palestinian city after Jerusalem.

After the massacre, “Israel” took control of the mosque’s surrounding courtyards, which are considered part of its total area. There were also large-scale attacks on the Old City of Hebron and its residents.

In 2010, the Ibrahimi Mosque was added to the list of “Israeli heritage sites” by the Israeli Occupation government.

In August 2021, the Israeli authorities implemented construction work, including the installation of an elevator to allow settlers to access the mosque, as well as a road linking the parking area to the mosque’s courtyard.

These plans target not just the complete seizure of the mosque, but also aim to change its Islamic features and historical identity.

As part of efforts to cement this change in the mosque’s identity, Israeli President Isaac Herzog stormed the Ibrahimi Mosque on November 28, 2021, and held an official celebration to light the menorah for Hanukkah, which provoked Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had previously, in 2010, issued a decision to add the Ibrahimi Mosque and the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque (which Jews claim holds the tomb of Rahil, the mother of Prophet Yusuf, in Bethlehem) to the list of “Jewish heritage sites.”

The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in the Old City of Hebron, which is under Israeli control. Around 400 settlers live there, protected by about 1,500 Israeli soldiers.

The Israeli Occupation only allows the mosque to be fully open to Muslims for 10 days a year, which includes the Fridays of Ramadan, the Night of Decree (Laylat al-Qadr), Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, the Night of Ascension (Isra and Mi'raj), the Prophet's Birthday, and the Islamic New Year.

On other days, prayers are shared with Jews, and Muslims are often not even allowed to broadcast the call to prayer, let alone enter the mosque for worship.

As part of the Zionist campaign against Islamic holy sites, and alongside efforts to fully take control of the Ibrahimi Mosque and make it Israeli, the status quo at al-Aqsa Mosque was maintained during Ramadan, moving towards a division of the mosque's space.

This included designating areas within the mosque for Jewish prayers, after it had already been temporally divided by setting specific times for Jewish access to the mosque and prayer there.

For the first time, settlers were allowed to enter al-Aqsa Mosque’s courtyards and pray there, which had previously been prohibited under the so-called “status quo” agreement following the occupation of Jerusalem in 1967.

This time, the challenge escalated, with settlers performing what is known as the “Jewish epic prayer” as part of the “Temple” ritual, even dressing as temple priests inside the courtyards of al-Aqsa. This practice has now become obligatory during all their holidays.

The Israeli Occupation exploited the Masquerade Ceremony celebrated by settlers from March 13 to 16, 2025, to intensify incursions into al-Aqsa Mosque.

Despite the fact that this festival has no connection to al-Aqsa or the temple (the so-called “Third Temple”) that they dream of building in the mosque’s courtyard, settlers used the occasion to carry out incursions into the mosque through the Mughrabi Bridge, under heavy military guard.

Despite the provocations and the strict military measures imposed by the Israeli Occupation authorities to limit access to al-Aqsa, in an attempt to turn it into a site for Jewish prayer similar to the Ibrahimi Mosque, about 130,000 worshipers performed the Maghrib and Taraweeh prayers there on the second Friday of Ramadan, according to the Islamic Waqf Department in occupied Jerusalem.

Palestinian scholars have called for mass gatherings and permanent presence at al-Aqsa and the Ibrahimi Mosque throughout Ramadan, as a challenge to the Israeli Occupation's policies and to thwart its settlement plans.