Ankara: Palestine warned of 'grave repercussions' on Wednesday from an Israeli decision to transfer the authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron to a settler council.

According to Anadolu Agency, Israeli media reported that Tel Aviv had abolished the authority of the Palestinian-run Hebron Municipality over the mosque, reassigning it to the religious council of the Kiryat Arba settlement in Hebron in the southern West Bank. The media did not specify the scope of powers transferred, but noted that the move aims to facilitate 'structural changes' at the site, describing it as 'great news for the settlement.'

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry, in response, stated that the decision represents a violation of international law and relevant UN resolutions. The ministry warned of grave repercussions from the move and called for the urgent intervention of UNESCO and the international community to halt the implementation of the Israeli decision.

The Israeli move marks the first significant shift in the status of the mosque since the 1994 recommendations of the Shamgar Commission, which divided access to the site, allocating 63% to Jewish worshippers and 37% to Muslims. This division followed the 1994 massacre by extremist settler Baruch Goldstein, who killed 29 Palestinian worshippers during dawn prayers.

The mosque is situated in Hebron's Old City, an area under full Israeli control where approximately 400 illegal settlers live under the protection of about 1,500 Israeli soldiers. Since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the West Bank by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, as reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.