Ibrahimi Mosque at Risk: Palestine Calls on UNESCO

By Staff, Agencies

Ali Zidan Abu Zuhri, member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization and head of the National Committee for Tangible and Intangible Heritage, said Palestine has urged UNESCO to urgently protect the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil from ongoing "Israeli" violations targeting its cultural and religious heritage.

Abu Zuhri explained that the appeal comes “in response to an 'Israeli' settler conference held in the courtyards of the Ibrahimi Mosque with the participation of 'Israeli' officials.”

He called on UNESCO and the international community to act swiftly to protect the mosque and other holy sites, urging strong measures against the "Israeli" “colonial apparatus.”

Abu Zuhri described the event as “a blatant assault on the cultural and religious heritage of the Palestinian people and an affront to the feelings of millions of Muslims worldwide.”

He added that the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is listed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Register, is facing a deliberate Judaization campaign aimed at erasing its Palestinian identity.

Abu Zuhri blamed "Israel" for the violations and warned against escalating into religious conflict. He stressed that Palestinian heritage is vital to global identity and called for international protection to stop efforts to erase Palestinian memory.

In July, "Israel" handed control of the Ibrahimi Mosque from the Palestinian municipality to a council in the illegal "Kiryat Arba" settlement, marking an “unprecedented” change.

"Israel" Hayom reported that the "Israeli" Civil Administration transferred control of the historic mosque to the nearby settler council, enabling changes to its layout and settler access.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, or Cave of the Patriarchs, is in al-Khalil’s Old City, under full "Israeli" occupation control, where 400 settlers live protected by 1,500 troops amid numerous military checkpoints disrupting Palestinian life.

This marks the first major change since 1994, when the occupation split the mosque after settler Baruch Goldstein’s massacre that martyred 29 Palestinians during Fajr prayer.

Though not yet implemented, "Israel" Hayom hailed the decision as a major win for settlements, paving the way for structural changes like re-roofing and expanding settler-used areas such as "Jacob’s Courtyard."

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the move as a clear violation of international law and a step to Judaize the mosque. In 2017, UNESCO designated the Old City of al-Khalil and the Ibrahimi Mosque as a Palestinian World Heritage Site and classified it as “in danger,” despite “Israeli” objections.

Palestinian diplomats urged UNESCO to fast-track al-Khalil’s Old City onto the World Heritage in Danger list, citing “alarming” "Israeli" violations and calling for international protection and annual status reviews.