Hebron: Israeli occupation authorities refused on Friday, which marks the first days of Eid al-Adha, to hand over the Ibrahimi Mosque to the Awqaf Department, according to an official.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Munjed al-Ja'bari, Acting Director-General of the Awqaf Department in Hebron, stated that the occupation forces not only refused to hand over the holy site to the department but also declined to open the eastern gate to allow Muslims full access to all parts of the site. He emphasized that the department declined to assume partial responsibility for some sections of the mosque, affirming that any compromise on the rights of Palestinians and Muslims to the site would be unacceptable.
Al-Ja'bari urged the international community to apply pressure on the occupation authorities to cease their aggressive practices, prohibitions, and restrictions on the site that undermine the rights of the Palestinian people. He cautioned that these Israeli practices and restrictions aim to Judaize the site and transform it into a synagogue.
The occupation authorities currently permit Palestinians and Muslims to access all parts of the site only for 10 days a year, including Fridays during Ramadan. Hebron, which houses the Ibrahimi Mosque, is home to approximately 160,000 Palestinian Muslims and around 800 Israeli settlers, known for their aggressive behavior, residing in compounds under the protection of about 1,500 Israeli troops.
Israel has expelled the only international monitors who were protecting Hebron's Palestinian population from the 800 heavily guarded settlers, one of whom perpetrated the 1994 massacre that necessitated their deployment. Thirty-one years ago, Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein broke into the Ibrahimi Mosque and opened fire on Palestinian Muslim worshippers, resulting in the deaths of 29 individuals. On that same day, four Palestinians lost their lives in clashes around the mosque in response to the massacre.
Following the massacre, the mosque was divided into two sections, with the larger part converted into a synagogue, and heavy restrictions were imposed on Palestinians, with certain areas, including a vital market and the main street, Shuhada Street, being completely closed to them.
