Some 100 Israeli soldiers broke into the Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil), on Monday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) and Islamic Affairs slammed the military intrusion into the site as “a very serious indication of the Israeli occupation authorities’ intention to impose total control over the site and turn it into a synagogue.”
Footage shows settlers dancing in al-Ibrahimi Mosque during a celebration after Israeli forces closed off the mosque to Muslim worshippers.#Hebron #Palestine #Israel #AntiSemitism #alIbrahimiMosque #anews pic.twitter.com/2nU4Ycj5y7
— ANews (@anews) September 29, 2021
Twenty-six years ago, extremist settler Baruch Goldstein broke into the Ibrahimi Mosque and opened fire at Palestinian Muslim worshippers, killing 29. Four Palestinians were killed on the same day in the clashes that broke out around the Mosque in response to the massacre.
🇵🇸#Palestine || Israeli occupation soldiers broke into Al Ibrahimi mosque wearing their shoes, with out any respect to the holiness of the #mosque. pic.twitter.com/q36CPAKHdD
— Malak Yousef (@Malak__yousef) March 28, 2019
In the aftermath, the mosque, known to Jews as Tomb of the Patriarchs, was divided in two, with the larger part turned into a synagogue while heavy scrutiny was imposed on the Palestinians and areas closed completely to them, including an important market and the main street, Shuhada street.
An estimated 800 notoriously aggressive Jewish settlers live under the protection of thousands of soldiers in Hebron’s city center. The city is home to over 30,000 Palestinians.
(WAFA, PC, Social Media)
