Israeli forces have closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron to Palestinian worshippers as thousands of Israeli settlers converge on the site for a Jewish religious celebration.
The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments said worshippers and mosque employees had been barred from entering and the call to prayer suspended.
Mosque director Moataz Abu Sneineh told Al Jazeera that Israeli authorities intended to open the mosque’s prayer halls and courtyards exclusively to Israelis.
The closure, imposed on Friday afternoon and set to last until 10pm on Saturday, coincides with an annual Jewish observance to commemorate Sarah, a wife of Prophet Abraham, who is traditionally believed to be buried at the site.
Israeli troops tightened checkpoints and restricted movement across Hebron’s Old City, where the mosque is located, preventing some residents from entering or leaving their homes.
Israeli forces told The Jerusalem Post they expected about 20,000 visitors at the site for the Jewish holiday, with hundreds of security personnel deployed.
Israel’s encroaching control
The Ibrahimi Mosque, known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs, is revered by Muslims and Jews as the burial site of the Prophet Abraham and members of his family.
Under a 1997 Hebron Agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel assumed security control over the Old City, while Hebron’s Palestinian municipality holds planning and construction powers.
However, in June, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced a takeover of those powers, undermining Palestinian oversight of the holy site and raising fears that Israel was seeking to seize the site for exclusive Jewish use.
The closure comes just days after Israeli forces ended a 10-day siege of Hebron, which saw hundreds of arrests, 15 home demolitions and the displacement of more than 3,300 Palestinians.
Israeli settlers have steadily expanded their presence in Hebron’s Old City, seizing Palestinian properties and establishing new outposts under Israeli military protection.
