(MENAFN) Israeli authorities have imposed a curfew on Palestinians in Hebron’s Old City and closed the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslim worshippers to allow settlers to observe a Jewish holiday, local activists reported Saturday.

According to reports, the curfew has been in place since Friday morning across several neighborhoods of the old city. Aref Jaber, a resident and member of the Hebron Defense Committee, said Israeli forces blocked military checkpoints, preventing residents from entering or leaving. Many Palestinians were forced to spend the night with relatives elsewhere in the city.

Jaber added that hundreds of settlers entered the Old City on Friday night and again Saturday morning, marching under heavy military protection in what he described as “provocative” processions. He noted the curfew coincides with Israeli efforts to take full control of the Ibrahimi Mosque and convert it into a synagogue.

The settler event marks Sara’s Day, a Jewish holiday observed annually in Hebron that promotes the narrative of a historic Jewish presence in the city. The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments said Israeli authorities have routinely closed the Souq gate of the mosque and sealed the eastern gate, including its windows, since early 2025.

The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in Hebron’s Old City, which is under full Israeli control and home to around 400 settlers protected by roughly 1,500 Israeli soldiers. Following a 1994 massacre that killed 29 Palestinian worshippers, Israel divided the mosque, allocating 63% for Jewish worship and 37% for Muslim worship. The Jewish section includes the call-to-prayer room.

Under Israeli rules, the mosque is fully closed to Muslims on 10 Jewish holidays each year and fully closed to Jews on 10 Islamic holidays. However, reports indicate that full access for Muslims has not been honored since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023.

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