IOA closes Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslim worshipers

AL-KHALIL, (The Palestine Information Centre)The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) announced on Monday the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil City to Muslim worshipers to allow Jewish settlers to celebrate a religious event.

Director of the Mosque Ghassan al-Rajbi said that the IOA would close the Ibrahimi Mosque for two days as of Monday to allow Jewish settlers to celebrate the Sukkot occasion.

Rajbi added that the Israeli army opened the entire Mosque, with its courtyards, corridors, and buildings, to Jewish settlers, who started in the morning to flock into the Islamic holy site for rituals and celebrations.

He pointed out that the IOA closes the Ibrahimi Mosque 10 days a year on the pretext of Jewish celebrations and deprives Muslims of their right to worship and pray at their own holy site.

After the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinian worshippers inside the Mosque by Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein, the IOA imposed its control over the Islamic holy site and divided it between Muslims and Jewish settlers