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Israeli soldiers close Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to Muslim worshippers
Israeli soldiers closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron to Muslim worshippers on Wednesday, with the closure planned to continue until Thursday evening. Checkpoints and electronic turnstiles around the mosque were closed, halting or disrupting classes at two schools in the area.
The Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in the southern part of the occupied West Bank, was closed to Muslim worshippers by Israeli soldiers on Wednesday. The closure was planned to continue until Thursday evening and was imposed for settlers celebrating Jewish holidays and on grounds of "security measures."
The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned the closure and called on international organizations and human rights institutions to intervene urgently. The ministry called for an end to systematic violations targeting the Ibrahimi Mosque and demanded that Muslims' freedom of access to their place of worship be protected.
The military restrictions were not limited to the mosque's closure. Checkpoints and electronic turnstiles along routes leading to the mosque were also closed. As a result, students and teachers traveling to Ibrahimi Basic Boys' School and Al-Fayha Basic Girls' School faced transportation difficulties.
Classes at Ibrahimi School were suspended completely, while education at Al-Fayha School was disrupted.
Ibrahimi Mosque Director Mutasim Abu Sneineh said the measure was part of efforts to seize the mosque's remaining sections and of the ongoing escalation. Abu Sneineh said the mosque, with all its halls and courtyards, was exclusively an Islamic site, and described the closure as an "outright attack" on the freedom of worship guaranteed by international conventions.
Status of the Ibrahimi Mosque
The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in Hebron's Old City, which is under Israel's full control. Approximately 400 settlers live in the area under the protection of about 1,500 Israeli soldiers.
The mosque was divided in 1994 after an attack by an Israeli settler that killed 29 Palestinian Muslims. Sixty-three percent of the Ibrahimi Mosque was allocated to Jews and 37 percent to Muslims.
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