Israeli settlers on Tuesday morning carried out excavations in al-Yousufiy al-Tahta area located under the Ibrahimi Mosque in al-Khalil city.
Head of Awqaf Department in al-Khalil Ismail Abu al-Halawa told Quds Press that tunnels are being dug under the Ibrahimi Mosque with the participation of Israeli settlers under full protection by the Israeli occupation army.
Abu al-Halawa said that the Israeli occupation forces have stepped up their attacks on the Ibrahimi Mosque since the end of Ramadan with the aim of altering its Islamic character and turning it into a Jewish synagogue in a blatant violation of international laws.
The Israeli occupation authorities have recently opened a new detention center in the Old City of al-Khalil. During the month of Ramadan the Israeli forces secured a settler break-in during which a copy of Torah was sneaked into the Ibrahimi Mosque.
The Israeli authorities imposed a temporal and spatial division on the holy site following the Ibrahim Mosque massacre in 1994 and usually prevent Palestinian worshipers from praying at the Mosque during Jewish holidays.
