(MENAFN- Palestine News Network ) 186 Views
Hebron/PNN/
Israeli so-called President Isaac Herzog stormed this evening the Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron amidst strict military measures in a step seen as an explicit and clear declaration of his sponsorship of the settlers' plans and support for their crimes against the Palestinian people.
Israeli forces closed the mosque gates, and prevented Palestinian residents who gathered to condemn the visit from praying or being near its surroundings, and assaulted them, leading to clashes.
Israeli forces further forced the shop owners to close their shops, hindered the work of the press crews, and assaulted a number of them in an attempt to prevent them from covering the intrusion.
The Israeli president lit the first candle of the Jewish Hanukkah holiday at the Ibrahimi Mosque accompanied by settler leaders and Knesset members.
The Arab League has condemned Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, for storming and defiling the Ibrahimi Mosque in the southern occupied West Bank city of Hebron during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
In a statement on Sunday, the Arab League said the incursion of the mosque was in line with the continued and persistent policy of Judaization of Islamic and Christian holy sites by Israel, Palestine's official Wafa news agency reported.
The regional organization stressed that the move constitutes a disrespect for and provocation of the feelings of all Muslims.
The holy site was split into a synagogue, known to Jews as the Cave of Patriarchs, and a mosque after American-born Israeli settler Baruch Goldstein massacred 29 Palestinians inside the mosque in 1994. Since then, Muslim worshipers have been prevented from having access to the site during Jewish holidays.
What the city of Hebron is exposed to, especially the Ibrahimi Mosque, and the planned storming by the Israeli president confirms the occupation authorities' persistence to go on with their aggression and racism, the Arab league added.
The pan-Arab organization also stressed that the visit proved the continuation of Israel's official and organized terrorism against the Palestinian people, their rights, and their sanctities.
The organization added that the new incursion into Ibrahimi mosque was in line with the occupying entity's policy of Judaizing al-Quds by targeting Al-Aqsa Mosque and the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Arab League further called on the international community, particularly the United Nations, to condemn Israel's targeting of Islamic and Christian sanctities, including this intrusion, and take necessary measures to confront such acts of aggression.
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