Israel has taken away planning and construction powers from the Palestinian Authority in the Ibrahimi Mosque area in Hebron in the West Bank, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced on Tuesday. This decision leads to the cancellation of an agreement that had been in effect between the two parties since the 1990s. The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described the seizure of these powers as “affecting the political and legal status of the city of Hebron,” and is a violation of international law. Meanwhile, Smotrich spoke of a historic step that will strengthen Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank.