(HARTFORD-CT 6/17/2026 – The Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT), the state’s leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned the Israeli government’s seizure of planning and construction authority over the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, calling the move another attack on Palestinian rights, religious freedom, and international law.
According to news reports, Israeli authorities have assumed control over planning and construction matters at the historic mosque, ending arrangements established under the 1997 Hebron Agreement.
According to news reports, Israeli authorities have assumed control over planning and construction matters at the historic mosque, ending arrangements established under the 1997 Hebron Agreement. This action comes amid a broader pattern of settler terrorist attacks on Palestinian rights, religious freedom, and holy sites, including attacks by illegal Israeli settlers who have torched two mosques in illegally-occupied West Bank villages.
Illegal Israeli settlers reportedly set fire to mosques in the Palestinian villages of Al-Mughayyir and Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah. Witnesses and local officials said the settlers also vandalized property and sprayed racist anti-Arab graffiti during the attacks.
CAIR-CT calls on elected officials, faith leaders, civil rights organizations, and human rights advocates to unequivocally condemn the ongoing attacks on Muslim and Christian communities, houses of worship, and religious sites in the occupied Palestinian territories.
We urge Connecticut’s congressional delegation to publicly condemn these attacks, demand the protection of Muslim and Christian holy sites, and call for accountability for those responsible. We further urge Connecticut’s representatives to directly engage with Israeli government officials and diplomatic contacts to press for an immediate halt to attacks on religious sites, settler violence against Palestinian communities. Elected officials must demonstrate that attacks on places of worship and civilian communities are unacceptable regardless of the victims’ faith or nationality and that the United States will not remain silent when fundamental rights are under assault.
In a statement, Farhan Memon, CAIR-CT chairman said:
“The targeting, seizure, destruction, or desecration of religious sites is not only morally wrong, but also prohibited under international law. The 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court all recognize the importance of protecting religious and cultural sites during conflict and occupation. Actions that undermine access to, control of, or protection of holy sites threaten religious freedom and violate internationally recognized legal principles.”
“Americans understand this principle well. Under federal law, including the Church Arson Prevention Act (18 U.S.C. § 247), it is a crime to damage religious property or interfere with a person’s right to worship freely. Whether the target is a mosque, church, synagogue, or temple, attacks on religious sites are attacks on fundamental human rights and religious liberty. These protections should be upheld consistently, both here in the United States and around the world, said Memon.”
“The United States government must reject this latest escalation and hold the Israeli government accountable for actions that violate international law and threaten the status of protected religious sites. Holy places must be safeguarded from annexation, political manipulation, and unilateral actions that undermine religious freedom and increase tensions. We also urge Connecticut residents and people of conscience across our nation to contact their members of Congress and demand that they publicly condemn these actions, defend religious freedom, and support accountability for violations of international law and attacks on sacred religious sites.”
CAIR-CT also expressed alarm over recent reports of terrorist attacks by extremist Israeli settlers against the predominantly Christian Palestinian town of Taybeh near Ramallah. Reports indicate that settlers have engaged in acts of intimidation, vandalism, and arson targeting the community and its surroundings. These attacks come amid a broader pattern of extreme violence against Palestinian Muslim and Christian communities throughout the occupied West Bank.
“Americans of all faiths and backgrounds reject attacks on churches, mosques, synagogues, and other houses of worship. Religious freedom is a universal value that must be protected regardless of faith, ethnicity, or nationality. Attacks on Muslim and Christian holy sites violate fundamental human rights and undermine efforts to achieve peace and coexistence.”
International humanitarian law, including the Fourth Geneva Convention, prohibits an occupying power from taking actions that alter the character of occupied territory or interfere with protected religious and cultural sites. The protection of religious institutions is also recognized under international human rights principles and longstanding American commitments to religious freedom worldwide.
CAIR-CT noted that continued U.S. support for policies associated with occupation, settlement expansion, and attacks on civilian communities damages America’s moral standing, weakens U.S. credibility on human rights issues, and undermines American interests abroad.
“When the United States fails to oppose Israeli attacks on religious sites, civilian populations, and internationally recognized protections, it sends the wrong message to the world. Americans expect our nation’s foreign policy to reflect the values of human dignity, religious freedom, equal justice, and respect for international law. Continued support for policies that violate those principles harms America’s reputation and weakens its ability to advocate for human rights globally.”
CAIR-CT has repeatedly condemned Israeli attacks targeting the Ibrahimi Mosque and other Palestinian holy sites. In 1994, a terrorist Israeli settler massacred 29 Muslim worshipers at the mosque. Since then, restrictions and measures imposed by Israeli occupying forces have steadily reduced Muslim control and access to the site.
The Connecticut chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CT) is a nonprofit civil rights and advocacy organization dedicated to enhancing the understanding of Islam, protecting civil rights, promoting justice, and empowering American Muslims.
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CONTACT: Farhan Memon, Chairman, CAIR-CT 203-517-6526 (cell) or fmemon@cair.com
