Israel strips Hebron municipality of authority over Ibrahimi Mosque

Israel has withdrawn certain administrative powers over the Ibrahimi Mosque from the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality, transferring them to the religious council of the Israeli Kiryat Arba settlement, an Israeli newspaper reported on Tuesday.  According to Israel Hayom daily, this move represents a “historic and unprecedented step” that changes the status quo at what it referred to as the Cave of the Patriarchs (Ibrahimi Mosque). The paper said that “the Israeli Civil Administration has stripped the Palestinian Hebron Municipality of certain responsibilities and handed them to the Israeli religious council of Kiryat Arba-Hebron,” adjacent to Hebron in the occupied West Bank. READ: Israeli army detains 35 Palestinians, including children, in West Bank raids While the report did not specify the nature of […]