Israeli army restricts Friday prayers at Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron

By Awad Rjoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army prevented hundreds of Palestinians from entering the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank to perform Friday prayers.

Ghassan Al-Rajabi, the director of Islamic Endowments in Hebron, told Anadolu: "Only a small number of worshipers were allowed to perform Friday prayers at the Ibrahimi Mosque."

He added: “The occupation forces closed the doors of the mosque and the military checkpoints leading to it, forcing hundreds to pray at the surrounding gates and checkpoints."

Rajabi described the situation as "extremely difficult and complex," accusing the Israeli authorities of targeting the Palestinian worshippers inside the mosque as part of the "ongoing provocations and assaults."

He noted that many worshipers were also prevented from attending the early morning prayer at the mosque, saying: "It was clear today that the freedom of worship at the mosque was being targeted."

The mosque is surrounded by several military checkpoints and electronic gates, which worshipers must pass through to enter.

The Ibrahimi Mosque, located in Hebron old city, is under Israeli control, with hundreds of illegal Israeli settlers living in the area, guarded by Israeli soldiers.

Since 1994, following a massacre by an illegal settler that resulted in the killing of 29 Palestinian worshipers, Israel has divided the mosque, allocating 63% of the space to Jewish worshipers and 37% to Muslims.

Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank amid an ongoing Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has claimed more than 40,800 Palestinian lives, mostly women and children, since Oct. 7 last year.

According to Palestinian sources, at least 722 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly 6,000 injured in the occupied West Bank during the same period.

The situation continues to escalate following a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice on July 19, which declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

* Writing by Ikram Kouachi​​​​​​​​​​​​​​