AL-KHALIL (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Thousands of Jewish settlers, led by the far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, stormed the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil, in the southern occupied West Bank on Friday, to mark a Jewish holiday.
Aref Jaber, a member of a local committee working to defend al-Khalil against Israeli violations, said that several buses transported the settlers to the Ibrahimi Mosque, where they performed Talmudic rituals for the Jewish holiday known as Chayei Sarah (Life of Sarah).
“The Israeli army completely sealed off the Old City in al-Khalil and imposed a curfew on the local residents,” Jaber added.
He noted that the settlers were escorted by Israeli ministers, including Ben-Gvir.
The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in the old city of al-Khalil in the southern West Bank, which is under Israeli control.
After the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinian worshipers inside the mosque by a Jewish extremist settler, Baruch Goldstein, the Israeli occupation authorities divided the mosque complex between Muslim and Jewish worshipers, with the biggest area allocated for the Jews.
