Today, Tuesday, the Israeli army closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of Hebron in the southern West Bank to worshipers, and prevented its entry until tomorrow evening, Wednesday, at a time when the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments announced that it prevented the call to prayer in the mosque 57 times during last September.
The director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Ghassan Al-Rajabi, said that the Israeli army "closed the mosque's gates in conjunction with the call to prayer on Tuesday afternoon," and forced those inside to leave.
Al-Rajbi added that the closure will continue until ten in the evening on Wednesday, under the pretext of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
The settlers’ holding dance parties inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron two days ago, sparked widespread anger on social networking sites among Palestinian and Arab activists.
A video of settlers dancing and swaying inside the Ibrahimi Mosque spread widely on social networks, which angered activists, describing the scenes as "shameful".
Press coverage: Settlers hold a dance party inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron.
pic.twitter.com/EWuUrqv4aa
- Quds News Network (@qudsn) October 3, 2022
In turn, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), confirmed that the settlers' holding a dance party inside the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron is a "Zionist crime and a dangerous escalation" and a direct provocation to Muslims' feelings.
Since 1994, the Ibrahimi Mosque has been divided into two parts, one for Muslims and the other for Jews, after a settler killed 29 Muslims while they were performing the dawn prayer on February 25 of the same year.
The occupation surrounds the mosque with dozens of military checkpoints, as well as electronic gates that allow worshipers to enter only individually with their personal cards and their names registered by the soldiers.
The mosque, which is believed to have been built on the tomb of the Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, is located in the old city of Hebron, which is under Israeli control, and is inhabited by about 400 settlers, guarded by about 1,500 soldiers.
Presidency condemns settlers' attacks
On the other hand, the Palestinian presidency condemned the settlers' continuous attacks on the Palestinian people under the protection of the occupation forces in the northern occupied West Bank, which resulted in dozens of injuries, intimidation of children, destruction of property and blocking of roads.
The official spokesman for the presidency, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, said, "The occupation army and its extremist settlers are waging a daily comprehensive war on Palestinian cities, villages and camps," blaming the occupation government for the "continued terrorist attacks by settlers against the Palestinians," which lead to more tension, escalation and an explosion of the situation.
Abu Rudeineh warned of the danger of Jewish extremists' calls for a massive storming of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque and its desecration next Thursday, stressing that "Islamic and Christian sanctities are a red line."
"If the Israeli government wants to stop the dangerous escalation in all the Palestinian territories, it must stop its crimes and put an end to the settlers' attacks," he added.