As a result of the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque and the old city shops on the pretext of Jewish holidays

The manifestations of the feast were forcibly absent from the markets of “Assab of the West Bank” .. Khalil Rahman

• The occupation closes the Ibrahimi Mosque for 10 days throughout the year.

  Emirates today

• Director of the Ibrahimi Mosque Ghassan Rajabi.

  Emirates today

• Head of the Hebron Reconstruction Committee Imad Hamdan.

  Emirates today

• Israel imposes its control over the Ibrahimi Mosque.

  Emirates today

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The city of Hebron in the south of the West Bank is one of the largest Palestinian cities in terms of space and population density, while its old town, which is home to 40,000 Palestinians, is famous for its commercial markets, which are known as “the nerve of the West Bank”, where Palestinians from various cities and towns of the West Bank frequent them, especially during the festive seasons and the month of Ramadan. Blessed one.

This year, the markets of the Old City, which greatly contribute to reviving the economy of the city of Hebron, suffered a fatal blow that broke the back of the residents, owners of shops, and mobile stands in all markets. Passover, according to the Hebrew calendar, which negatively affected the movement of buying and selling in the town's markets.

The city of Hebron, especially the old city in it, witnessed great tension in the wake of the events of the occupation storming the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and closing the Ibrahimi Mosque during the days of the holy month, which weakened the commercial movement again in the markets of the old city, which is in a critical state of economic stagnation, as a result of the practices of the forces of Arbitrary occupation, and escalating settler attacks.

Lack of market movement

In preparation for the settlers' storming of Beersheba Street, adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the third week of the month of fasting, the occupation forces forced the shop owners to close their doors on this street, and in the Bab al-Zawiya area in the middle of the old town of Hebron.

Imad Hamdan, director of the Hebron Reconstruction Committee, explains that within the framework of the Jewish settlement scheme aimed at emptying the Old City of its residents and establishing a large settlement bloc in the heart of Hebron, the occupation authorities are pursuing a policy of economic suffocation against merchants and shop owners, to force them to evacuate their stores.

Hamdan said in an exclusive interview with "Emirates Today", that the occupation is fully aware that economic activity in the city of Hebron is the biggest booster for the steadfastness of its residents, so Israel sees the policy of closing the Ibrahimi Mosque in front of Muslim worshipers, and pushing settlers to attack citizens and shoppers, the most successful method, to practice Economic pressure against the merchants of the Old City. Visitors to the Ibrahimi Mosque, especially during the month of Ramadan, constitute the largest proportion of the number of shoppers.

He added, "In Bab Al-Baladiah Square inside the Old City, there are 10 shops, which are still open, but the occupation measures and the attacks of settlers threaten to close them, just as the rest of the shops in the town were closed."

The Israeli forces close 1,800 shops in the markets of the Old City, 530 of which have been closed by military orders for several years, which has exacerbated the economic stagnation faced by these markets, rendering the purchasing movement absent in preparation for the blessed Eid al-Fitr.

The Norwegian Refugee Council had estimated the total direct and indirect losses resulting from the closure of shops in the old town of Hebron by military orders from 1994 to 2019, at about $485 million, equivalent to $1.6 million per month.

closed area

According to the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Ghassan Al-Rajabi, the occupation forces closed the mosque completely from ten o’clock on Monday, until dawn on Wednesday of the third week of the blessed month of Ramadan, in front of Muslims, and prevented them from entering it, on the pretext of securing the settlers’ celebrations of Jewish holidays.

Al-Rajbi says: “The occupation forces impose their complete control over the fourth holiest Islamic place in the world, using the force of arms, controlling its closure and opening, and raping it for the benefit of the settlers. During the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque, no Palestinian or visitor was able to enter it, as the occupation considered the nearby places It is a closed security area.”

He points out that the occupation has imposed a policy of temporal and spatial division against the Ibrahimi Mosque since the massacre of worshipers inside it in the month of Ramadan in 1994, to rob 63% of the total area of ​​the campus, while its entire courtyards are permitted for 10 separate days during the year, adding, “The settlers storm the corridors of The mosque’s interior and its courtyards, and they perform dancing and maddening prayers, some of which are interspersed with drinking alcohol.”

long-term suffering

Over the past years, the residents of Hebron have suffered severe harassment and heavy losses at the hands of settlers in five outposts in the Old City, and the Israeli forces, as their shops and main streets were closed to their movement, most notably Shuhada Street, which has been closed for 28 years.

Abu Assad al-Fakhouri, the owner of a shop in the Bab al-Zawiya area adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque, says: “There are several neighborhoods within the Old City that a Palestinian cannot enter, unless he is a resident, and therefore no one is allowed to visit them, while other neighborhoods cannot be entered, except through military checkpoints. iron inspection gates.

He added, "This policy of controlling entry and exit movement negatively affected the movement of buying and selling inside the town's markets, and what made matters worse, the recent closure events coincided with the blessed Eid al-Fitr season, which we are eagerly awaiting, to compensate for the large losses that we are exposed to." It has throughout the year, as a result of the economic stagnation, resulting from the practices of the occupation, and its restrictions.”

• In preparation for the settlers' storming of Beersheba Street, adjacent to the Ibrahimi Mosque, in the third week of the month of fasting, the occupation forces forced the shop owners to close their doors on this street, and in the Bab Al-Zawiya area in the middle of the old town of Hebron.

• The Israeli forces close 1,800 shops in the markets of the Old City, 530 of which have been closed by military orders for several years, which has exacerbated the economic stagnation faced by these markets, rendering the purchasing movement no longer visible in preparation for the blessed Eid al-Fitr.

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