Israel plans to confiscate fresh areas in Palestinian city of Hebron

The attorney general of Israel cleared the government’s plan to confiscate fresh Palestinian land in the center of the old Hebron city, around the Ibrahimi Mosque. The proposal is now before prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu

April 22, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch
Israeli annexation in Hebron
The Israeli state occupied the Ibrahimi mosque in Hebron and divided it into Palestinian and Jewish parts, allowing Jews to pray inside the mosque since 1994.

Attorney general of Israel Avichai Mandelblit, on April 21, Tuesday, cleared the government’s plan to confiscate fresh Palestinian land in the center of the old Hebron city, around the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the occupied West Bank.  

The plan was approved by the Israeli defense ministry last December. The final decision is now pending the approval of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

The land to be seized belongs to the Palestine Islamic Waqf and the Palestinian Authority. Israel plans to demolish a wholesale market in the city’s famous Shuhada Street and rebuild the areas around the mosque for Jewish worshipers. Ultra right-wing Israelis consider the mosque to be site of the Tombs of Patriarchs. 

The Israeli state occupied the mosque and divided it into Palestinian and Jewish parts, allowing Jews to pray inside the mosque since 1994. This was in violation of all existing international laws and is also against the Oslo accords signed by Israel with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the same year. 

Israel already has an illegal settlement in the middle of Hebron city with 800 illegal Israeli settlers. A heavy Israeli military contingent has also been deployed on the pretext of providing security cover. However, Israeli security personnel and the Jewish settlers are accused of routinely harassing the local Palestinians. Palestinian news agency WAFA has reported that access to nearby towns has also been blocked by the settlers and the Israeli forces despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Palestine had 466 cases of COVID-19, with four deaths reported by April 22.    

Hebron, lying to the south of Jerusalem, is the most populated Palestinian city in the occupied West Bank with more than 200,000 Palestinians residents. The old city of Hebron, which includes the Ibrahimi Mosque, is a UNESCO world heritage site. 

The Palestinian Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs, in a statement released on the WAFA website, has condemned the decision by the Israeli government to annex the land around the mosque, calling it a clear violation of international laws and the religious rights of the Muslims. It also pointed to the fact that such violations by Israel are frequent, with numerous such instances taking place within Hebron itself.  

This Monday’s deal between Netanyahu and Benny Gantz to form a new unity government in Israel exempts laws related to Palestinian lands from a moratorium otherwise imposed on all fresh laws for a six-month period in light of the pandemic. Observers fear this as a signal that Israel intends to annex large parts of Palestinian land soon.