Closed to Palestinian worshippers, thousands of illegal Israeli settlers allowed into Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – After closing the Ibrahimi Mosque to Palestinian worshippers, the Israeli army allowed thousands of illegal settlers to hold a concert and perform their rituals at the site in the West Bank city of Hebron.

A video shared on social media platforms showed Israeli soldiers allowing the settlers to move some musical instruments into the mosque.

The footage, likely taken by an Israeli settler or soldier, also showed soldiers helping bring some materials inside the worship place.

Mosque director Moataz Abu Sneineh said that the Israeli settlers held a concert in the mosque’s courtyards “in a blatant violation of the places of worship and the privacy of Muslims.”

“These practices and violations fall within the framework of exchanging roles with the colonists, as the occupation forces allowed them to bring in musical instruments and loudspeakers as part of imposing complete control over the mosque and its surroundings, at a time when Palestinians are not allowed to bring in the necessary supplies for the mosque for maintenance and restoration,” he told the official news agency Wafa.

The mosque was opened to Palestinian worshippers early Tuesday, according to Wafa.

Muslims attach great importance to the Ibrahimi Mosque, as they believe it was built above the tomb of Prophet Ibrahim (Prophet Abraham).

Following the massacre of 29 Palestinian worshippers in 1994 inside the mosque by a Jewish extremist settler, Baruch Goldstein, Israeli authorities divided the mosque complex between Muslim and Jewish worshippers.

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided in July 2017 to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and the old city of Hebron on its World Heritage List.

Hebron is home to roughly 220,000 Palestinians and about 500 illegal settlers. The latter live in a series of Jewish-only enclaves heavily guarded by Israeli troops.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a deadly Israeli offensive that has killed nearly 40,800 people in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 682 people have since been killed and over 5,700 others injured by Israeli fire in the occupied territory, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar