The authorities in the city of Hebron urged citizens to perform Friday prayers tomorrow at the Ibrahimi Mosque, to confront an Israeli scheme that seeks to Judaize the mosque, at a time when the occupation decided to reinforce its forces on the borders of the Gaza Strip in anticipation of confrontations with the Palestinians.
In a statement, the Directorate of Islamic Endowments in Hebron Governorate (south of the West Bank) indicated that it had decided to close some mosques in the city tomorrow, at the time of Friday prayers, to urge the public to pray in the Ibrahimi Mosque.
She indicated that this call comes in light of the continuation of the construction and bulldozing work by the Israeli occupation authorities to build an electric elevator in the mosque.
On the tenth of August, Israel began excavations on the southern side of the mosque, to build a parking lot, a path for people to pass, and an electric elevator adjacent to the mosque, despite the Palestinian government's refusal.
Since 1994, the mosque - which is believed to have been built on the tomb of the Prophet of God Ibrahim, peace be upon him - has been divided into two parts: a section for Muslims, and another for Jews, after a settler killed 29 Palestinians during dawn prayers on February 25 of the same year.
day of anger
In return for these calls, the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation said today, Thursday, that the occupation army will increase the number of its forces and enhance its readiness in the Gaza Strip before the "Day of Rage" called for by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip announced the launch of a series of activities starting with a central festival on the Gaza Strip's border with Israel on Saturday, coinciding with the anniversary of the burning of Al-Aqsa Mosque.
Israeli forces on the Gaza border (Getty Images)
This came in a press conference held by the factions in Gaza City after a meeting for them to discuss the Israeli violations in the Palestinian territories, and the continuation of the siege imposed on the Strip.
The crime of burning Al-Aqsa Mosque took place on August 21, 1969, at the hands of an Australian extremist named Dennis Michael Rohan.
At that time, the fire consumed the entire contents of the eastern wing of the Qibli Mosque, which is located on the southern side of the mosque, including its historical pulpit known as the Salah al-Din pulpit.
On the other hand, dozens of teachers and students in the Gaza Strip participated in a protest stand in opposition to the Israeli blockade. The participants in the stand - organized by the Palestinian Teachers Syndicate in a government school west of Gaza City - raised banners with slogans condemning the continuing Israeli siege.
holding bodies
In a related context, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said today that the silence of the international community in assuming its responsibilities towards the crime of holding the bodies of the martyrs is evidence that its role ends at the borders of Israel.
The ministry added in a press statement that "the kidnapping of the bodies of the martyrs and their detention for various periods of time is a grave violation of international law and a flagrant violation of human rights."
She pointed out that Israel "deliberately imposes these collective punishments as a retaliatory policy aimed at punishing and abusing the Palestinian, in addition to psychological torture of the families of the martyrs."