Israeli forces closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron today, Wednesday, to Palestinian worshipers, until next Saturday evening, coinciding with the Jewish holidays.
The Director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Moataz Abu Sneineh, stated during media statements that the Israeli authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque today, Wednesday, to Muslims, to allow the settlements to celebrate one of their holidays.
Abu Sneineh pointed out that the closure process includes closing the main gates of the mosque, and preventing all employees of the Awqaf from being present inside it.
He stressed that "the occupation is turning all the neighborhoods of the Old City, the vicinity of the Ibrahimi Mosque, and the neighboring neighborhoods into military barracks, and is intensifying the deployment of its soldiers on various main axes in the area, and at the same time, the occupation is allowing hundreds of settlers to come to the mosque," according to Abu Sneineh.
The Director of the Ibrahimi Mosque described the Israeli government's behavior as "racist" and an infringement on the freedom of worship, and the performance of religious rituals and prayers for Muslims who have the right to this purely Islamic mosque.
Last September, the Israeli authorities prevented the call to prayer 69 times in the Ibrahimi Mosque, including 19 consecutive times for the dawn call to prayer, in a clear attempt to end the Islamic character of the mosque, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments.
Since 1994, the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron has been divided into two sections, one for Muslims and the other for Jews, after the settler Baruch Goldstein killed 29 Palestinians while performing the dawn prayer on February 25 of the same year.
The occupation authorities allow Muslim worshippers to enter their part of the sanctuary throughout the year, while they allow them to enter the part reserved for Jews only 10 days a year, during Islamic holidays, Fridays, and the Night of Power in the month of Ramadan.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency