“The occupation refuses to hand over the Ibrahimi Mosque, with all its halls, courtyards, and sections, for the celebration of blessed Eid al-Fitr.”
Israel is refusing to fully open the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron (Al-Khalil) in the southern occupied West Bank to Muslim worshippers for the Eid al-Fitr holiday, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.
“The occupation refuses to hand over the Ibrahimi Mosque, with all its halls, courtyards, and sections, for the celebration of blessed Eid al-Fitr,” Awqaf Minister Mohamed Najm said in a statement on Saturday, cited by the Anadolu news agency.
The Israeli occupation has once again restricted Palestinian worshippers from fully accessing the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron for Eid al-Fitr prayers. According to the Minister of Endowments, the occupation authorities have refused to hand over the mosque, including its courtyards… pic.twitter.com/FtKxF8lCGc
— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) March 29, 2025
Najm pointed out that this was the sixth time since the beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan that Israeli authorities have refused to open the entire mosque to worshippers.
He described Israel’s action as “a blatant and unprecedented violation of the Ibrahimi Mosque, a provocation to Muslim sentiments, and a disregard for the sanctity of religious rites.”
Palestinians Urged to Attend
Najm urged residents of the Hebron Governorate to “attend both the dawn and Eid prayers tomorrow, to affirm our steadfastness and resilience in the face of the occupation’s Judaization plans.”
Earlier, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, Sheikh Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, announced that Sunday will be the first day of Eid al-Fitr.
“As solidarity with Palestine has increasingly expanded from the global South to the global majority, Arabs remain largely ineffective.”
Read the latest editorial by Ramzy Baroud.https://t.co/q6wCFwxuq7
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) March 29, 2025
The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank, which is under Israeli occupation. It is home to around 400 illegal settlers guarded by approximately 1,500 Israeli soldiers.
Mosque Management Transferred
In February, Israel’s Hebron District Coordination and Liaison Office reportedly informed the administration of the Ibrahimi Mosque that management of the mosque was being transferred from the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments to Israeli authorities.
This unilateral decision, which has sparked widespread rejection from Palestinian officials, marks a significant shift in control over one of Islam’s holiest sites in the region.
As part of this controversial decision, work will resume on roofing the area of the mosque known as the “courtyard.”
For the past two decades, illegal Israeli Jewish settlers have established a presence in this space, setting up a tent and designating the area as a place of worship.
Division of Mosque
In 1994, following a massacre by an illegal Israeli Jewish settler that killed 29 Palestinian worshipers, Israel divided the mosque, allocating 63 percent of its area to Jews, including the prayer room, and 37 percent to Muslims.
Tensions have been running high across the West Bank, with more than 940 Palestinians killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza onslaught on October 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry, Anadolu reported.
In July last year, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
(Anadolu, PC)
Muslims should gather in immense crowds and pray during Eid Al-Fitr facing Mecca and standing under the open sky… that is how it must often have been when Muhammad was leading the Ummah…how it is during the sacred Hadj and the gathering on the plain of Arafat. … Dare the zionists to try and seize control of the sky and the air, … and indeed what Mosque could be more beautiful than the World ALLAH has Created?… But, at the same time, demand back full control of the Mosque in Hebron… Do not give the zionist criminals the slightest victory!
The site is shared by both Muslims and Jews. There is a ten-day-a-year rotation agreement in which each groups reserves the sire in its entirety for their respective holidays.