AL-KHALIL, (PIC)
The Israeli occupation forces (IOF) stormed the courtyard of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the city of al-Khalil, reinforcing their presence around it and in the surrounding neighborhoods of the Old City, in preparation for a large-scale incursion by settlers tomorrow under the pretext of Jewish holidays.
According to local sources, the IOF intensified military checkpoints and installed electronic gates leading to the holy site. They also closed some markets in the Old City to protect settlers expected to storm the Mosque and its corridors tomorrow.
The closure of the Mosque falls within the framework of temporal and spatial division, through which the occupation has permanently seized approximately 36% of its space. The Mosque is completely closed for ten days a year under the justification of Jewish holidays, depriving Palestinian worshipers of their right to practice religious rituals.
The occupation exploits Jewish holidays and religious occasions to tighten restrictions on Palestinians and impose collective punishment by closing checkpoints, intensifying military measures, obstructing movement, and preventing access to holy sites.
Meanwhile, the IOF continues to facilitate settler incursions into Palestinian cities and Islamic and archaeological sites in the West Bank—particularly the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil and the Aqsa Mosque in Occupied Jerusalem.
