Thousands of settlers, including the so-called "Minister of National Security" in the extremist Israeli occupation government, Itamar Ben Gvir, stormed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron on Friday evening.

This afternoon, the Israeli occupation forces closed the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslim worshippers and desecrated it to settlers under the pretext of Jewish holidays.

The occupation forces also closed the Old City and imposed a curfew in several neighborhoods in preparation for the settlers to storm the streets of the city, the closed areas in the city of Hebron and the surrounding area of the sanctuary, through the streets of Jaber neighborhood, Wadi al-Hussein and al-Salaima.

Director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, Moataz Abu Sneineh, told WAFA that the occupation forces forced the employees of the mosque and the Awqaf to leave, in preparation for the settlers to storm the mosque and its courtyards.

He pointed out that the occupation announced the closure of the sanctuary before the afternoon prayer until Saturday evening, and tightened its measures at the military checkpoints and gates of the sanctuary and prevented many citizens from praying in the sanctuary.

He stressed that the occupation has exceeded the number of days in which settlers violate the sanctuary to 12 days during this year, denouncing the settlers’ desecration of the sanctuary and its courtyards with noisy parties.

The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in the Old City of Hebron, which the Israeli occupation imposes its control over. About 400 settlers live there by force, guarded by about 1,500 occupation soldiers, amidst the spread of dozens of military checkpoints.

Since 1994, Israel, the occupying power, has divided the Ibrahimi Mosque into 63% for Jews and 37% for Muslims, following a massacre committed by a colonizer that resulted in the martyrdom of 29 worshipers. The call to prayer room is located in the section designated for Jews.

The occupation completely closes the sanctuary for 10 days a year, under the pretext of Jewish holidays, and deprives Palestinian worshippers of their right to pray there.