Occupation: Israeli Authorities Close Ibrahim Mosque for Jewish Holidays
The closure, which began on Friday night and is scheduled to last until Saturday evening, allows access exclusively to illegal Israeli settlers.
Ghassan al-Rajabi, the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, confirmed the closure and expressed that it is a recurrent occurrence during Jewish holidays. Israeli settlers are currently observing the Rosh Hashanah holiday from September 15 to September 17, with additional holidays like Sukkot at the end of September and Simhat Torah on October 6 also on the horizon.
Following the tragic 1994 massacre in which 29 Palestinian worshippers were killed by a Jewish extremist settler named Baruch Goldstein inside the mosque, Israeli authorities instituted a division of the mosque complex, allowing separate areas for Muslim and Jewish worshippers.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee took action in July 2017 to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and the historic city of Hebron on its prestigious World Heritage List.
Al-Khalil is home to an estimated 160,000 Palestinian Muslims and approximately 500 Jewish settlers who reside in designated Jewish-only enclaves, under the protection of Israeli security forces.
Source: Agencies
