Israel strips Hebron Municipality of planning and construction powers

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that Israel has cancelled the Hebron agreements in the southern occupied West Bank and transferred their powers to Israeli authorities.

Speaking during the announcement of a new settlement in Hebron on Tuesday, Smotrich, a far-right minister, said what he described as a “historic” step had been completed, under which all planning and construction powers granted to the Hebron Municipality under the Hebron Agreement had been withdrawn.

According to Smotrich, planning and construction authorities, as well as responsibility for the Ibrahimi Mosque, are no longer under the control of the Hebron Municipality and have been returned to full Israeli responsibility.

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