AL-KHALIL, (PIC)
The Hamas Movement has lashed out at the Israeli decision to transfer the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf’s authority to the Israeli occupation authority to carry out work on the ceiling of the Ibrahimi Mosque courtyard, describing it as a blatant attack on the status of the Ibrahimi Mosque, and a flagrant and dangerous violation within the series of the ongoing attacks on Islamic sanctities.
Hamas said in a statement on Wednesday, “This decision, which coincides with the thirty-first anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, reveals the occupation’s real intentions and its determination to continue Judaizing, dividing, and controlling the Ibrahimi Mosque.”
Hamas recalled that the Ibrahimi massacre was followed by attempts to restrict Muslims’ access to the Mosque, allocating large areas of it to Jewish extremists, and tightening the security measures in its vicinity.
It stressed that “the Ibrahimi Mosque is a pure Islamic endowment property”, and that “all of the occupation’s plans to Judaize it and control it completely will fail in the face of the Palestinian resistance, especially the heroic people of the city of Al-Khalil.
The resistance movement called on the Palestinian people, especially the residents of Al-Khalil, to protect the Ibrahimi Mosque and defend it, especially with the approach of the holy month of Ramadan, to thwart the occupation’s plans aimed at changing its Islamic features and taking full control over it.
Israeli occupation authorities informed the administration of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil that the work in the Mosque was transferred from the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments to the so-called Israeli Civil Planning Authority.
According to the decision, works will resume on the roof of the area known as the courtyard of the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is an area that was occupied by Israeli settlers, 20 years ago, when they set up a tent in the place and designated it as a place of worship.
Since then, the tent has remained standing to this day, as settlers are now demanding to establish a roof for the courtyard to designate it as a Jewish place of worship.
Israeli occupation forces began roofing the courtyard on July 9, last year, but stopped the work on it two days later, following a popular uprising in Al-Khalil in which the city had witnessed protests and sit-ins organized by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.
