AL-KHALIL, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Mayor of al-Khalil Yousef al-Jaabari has rejected far-right Israeli minister Bezalel Smotrich’s sovereignty claims over the city and the Ibrahimi Mosque.
In a statement on Thursday, mayor al-Jaabari stressed that “al-Khalil is an inherently Palestinian city and that the Ibrahimi Mosque is a deeply rooted religious, cultural, and historic heritage site whose identity cannot be changed nor stripped away by Israeli measures.”
“Al-Khalil belongs to its people, who were born in its alleyways, lived in its neighborhoods and carried its history from one generation to the next,” Jaabari said.
The mayor’s statement came in response to recent remarks by Smotrich inside the Ibrahimi Mosque, following the completion of a project that roofed the compound’s courtyard and altered its historical and cultural features.
The Israeli occupation regime had previously stripped al-Khalil Municipality of its administrative powers over the Ibrahimi Mosque, transferring authority over the Islamic holy site to the military’s civil administration and settler groups.
Speaking from the site, Smotrich claimed that the Ibrahimi Mosque is the first sovereign property of the Jewish people, adding that al-Khalil City will be Jewish forever.
