The Israeli occupation army delivered a written order on Wednesday that bans the Palestinian residents of al-Khader town in southern Bethlehem from using the Hamidiyah Mosque and the lands around it.
According to local activist Ahmed Salah Israeli soldiers stormed the town and put up a notice ordering the local residents to stop praying at the Mosque renovating it and reclaiming the lands around it.
The Mosque which was built 250 years ago is supervised by an employee from the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs and used for prayers by farmers and citizens living and working in nearby areas.
Salah pointed out that the Israeli army also ordered the removal of all the olive saplings that were planted recently on a piece of land near the Mosque.
About two years ago the Israeli army prohibited local residents from cultivating 500 dunums of lands in the areas of al-Hamidiyah Faghour and Shaab al-Zaatar at the pretext they are archeological areas. These lands belong to the Ministry of Awqaf and the families of Salah Issa and Sobeih.
