Israeli settlers installed dozens of Israeli flags on the Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron, in celebration of Israeli Independence Day, which coincides with the Palestinian Nakba, or “catastrophe,” which on 1948 saw some 750,000 Palestinians expelled from their lands.
Sheikh Hifthi Abu Sneineh, the director of the mosque – which was the site of a massacre in 1994 when Baruch Goldstein, an American born Israeli settler opened fire on and killed 29 Palestinians during morning prayers – told Ma’an that Israeli settlers installed Israeli flags over the mosque “as an attempt to turn it take over the mosque and turn it into a synagogue.”
#Hebron: #IbrahimiMosque site of historic massacre of prayerful people by Israeli Colonial Settler #BaruchGoldstein https://t.co/LEBmuczlTK pic.twitter.com/Fi7gidFbVD
— #NoJusticeNoPeace (@PalsJustice) May 1, 2017
“As usual Israeli settlers attempt to impose their control during their Jewish holidays … but we will continue to expose their practices and violations conducted against this Islamic mosque that belongs to all Muslims around the world,” Abu Sneineh said.
Abu Sneineh noted that Israeli forces had banned the Adhan, the Muslim call to prayer, inside the Ibrahimi mosque for 66 times during April. He called upon all those who are able to increase their visitation to the mosque “to stop Israeli settlers’ violations and aggression.”
Israeli flags raised on the top of Ibrahimi mosque in #Hebron marking "Israel's Independence Day".#Palestine pic.twitter.com/6ZTwVrS6KA
— Palestine Social (@PalestineSocial) April 23, 2015
(Maan, PC, Social Media)