DaysofPal- 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 al-Khalil, an old city in the southern West Bank that is controlled by Israel.
Following the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinian worshipers inside the mosque by a Jewish extremist settler named Baruch Goldstein, Israeli occupation authorities divided the mosque complex between Muslim and Jewish worshipers, with the Jews receiving the largest area.
Hamas warns of Ben Gvir’s “arrogance”
The Hamas Movement stated that the Israeli government is continuing its efforts to carry out its criminal plans in the occupied West Bank, allowing its settlers to commit crimes against the Palestinian people and their sanctuaries without accountability.
“A serious violation that comes as part of the ongoing Israeli Judaization projects that threaten our Islamic and Christian sanctities in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem,” the Movement said in a statement released Friday evening, denouncing Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir’s break-in at the Ibrahimi Mosque.
Hamas emphasized that these dangerous measures “require a real Palestinian rise up to break this cycle of terrorism and arrogance, confront the Israeli settler projects, and make them pay the price for their crimes and violations.”
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