GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad group warned Israeli authorities on Thursday about targeting the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron in the south of the occupied West Bank.

"We warn the [Israeli] occupation from attempts and new settlement plans that target the Ibrahimi Mosque," said Tareq Selmi, a spokesman for the group.

He said that Israeli plans for constructing a passage and a settler-only elevator aim to control the mosque and to change and obliterate the Islamic and historic nature of the mosque.

Selmi urged residents in Hebron to gather at the mosque to perform Friday prayers that will confirm the identity of the Ibrahimi Mosque.

The Israeli defense ministry said Monday it started a project at the mosque’s courtyards to construct a route that directly links from the parking area to the mosque and an electric elevator.

UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided in July 2017 to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and the old city of Hebron on its World Heritage List.

Under the Hebron Agreement signed in 1997 between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, the city was divided into two areas -- H1 subject to Palestinian control and H2 under Israeli control. It is estimated that 20% of the city’s area, in which the old city and the Ibrahimi Mosque are located, is in H2.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara