Remembering the Ibrahimi Mosque Massacre, 26 Years Later

February 25, 2020 Articles, Features
In 1997, Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire inside al-Khalil Ibrahimi Mosque. (Photo: File)

Twenty-six years ago, on February 25, 1994, Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli physician, opened fire at hundreds of Muslims who were performing the dawn prayer on a Ramadan day at the Ibrahimi Mosque in southern West Bank city of Hebron (Al-Khalil).

After several minutes of shooting, 29 worshippers were killed and hundreds of others were wounded before people were able to overcome the murderer and end his life.

On that very same day, Israeli soldiers killed an additional 21 Palestinians who took to the streets in the occupied territories to protest the massacre in Hebron.

Instead of taking action against the extremist Jewish settlers living in the occupied Palestinian town of Hebron, particularly in the illegal settlement of Kiryat Arba, where Goldstein used to live, the Israeli authorities punished the Palestinians.

After the massacre, the Israeli military divided the Ibrahimi mosque into two sectors: Jewish settlers and visitors have exclusive access to more than half of the site, including all of the surrounding gardens.

Hebron city center is the site of several illegal Jewish settlements.

According to the Israeli human rights group B’tselem, in Hebron “Palestinians living in the area are subjected to extreme restrictions on their movement by car or on foot – including the closure of main streets – while settlers are free to go where they wish.”

(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)

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