Israeli forces have closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil) for the second day in a row during the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, Wafa news agency has reported.
Muslim worshippers were again prevented from attending the mosque for daily prayers.
⚪The Israeli occupation army arrested a Palestinian child at Abu Al-Rish checkpoint in the courtyards of the Ibrahimi Mosque a short while ago. pic.twitter.com/k2neubnsSC
— Aya Isleem 🇵🇸 #Gaza (@AyaIsleemEn) September 21, 2020
The director of the mosque slammed Israel’s latest violation of human rights conventions which guarantee the right to religious freedom.
Sheikh Hifthi Abu Sneineh told Wafa that the occupation authorities closed the mosque on Saturday night in order to make way for illegal settlers.
The Ibrahimi Mosque, believed to be the burial place of the Prophet Abraham, is sacred to both Muslims and Jews and has been the site of oft-violent tensions for decades.
For the 2nd day in a row, israel continues to keep al-Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil closed, unlawfully denying Muslim worshipers access #BDS https://t.co/irWBhBSMnJ
— Sarah Wilkinson (@swilkinsonbc) September 21, 2020
The Mosque is located in the Israeli-controlled section of Hebron, known as H2. It has been divided between Muslims and Jews following the massacre carried out on February 25, 1994, by Israeli-American settler Baruch Goldstein, who opened fire at a large number of Palestinian worshippers as they were performing the dawn prayers on a Ramadan day.
(Palestine Chronicle, MEMO, Social Media)
