Israeli forces shut Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron ‘until further notice'

Israeli forces on Friday shut the flashpoint Ibrahimi Mosque for Muslim worshippers, according to Palestinian officials.

Hammam Abu Marakhia, acting director of the mosque located in the West Bank city of Hebron, said Israeli forces closed the site Friday morning "until further notice" and forced guards, custodians, employees, and worshippers to leave.

He described the move as a “blatant violation” of the sanctity of the mosque and an infringement on Muslims’ right to access places of worship.

Abu Marakhia added that Israeli forces tightened restrictions around the site and closed military checkpoints and electronic gates leading to the mosque.

The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs condemned the closure, calling it a direct attack on Muslims’ right to access their holy sites.

In a statement, the ministry said the measure reflected an ongoing Israeli policy aimed at altering the religious and historical status quo at the mosque.

It warned that continued restrictions could lead to the imposition of a “new reality” inside the site and called on international and human rights organizations to intervene and ensure unrestricted access for worshippers.

The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in Hebron’s Old City, an area under full Israeli military control where about 400 Israeli settlers live under the protection of roughly 1,500 Israeli soldiers.

In 1994, Israel divided the mosque complex, allocating 63% of the site to Jewish worshippers and 37% to Muslims following a massacre by an Israeli settler that killed 29 Palestinian worshippers.

The closure comes amid heightened tensions across the occupied West Bank, where Israeli military raids, arrests and settler attacks have intensified since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,168 Palestinians, injured 12,666 others, displaced around 33,000 people and detained nearly 23,000 in the West Bank since then.

*Writing by Sahin Demir in Istanbul.