Religious discrimination in occupied Palestine
By Ibrahim Ebeid
March 8, 2025
Discrimination is spreading in occupied Palestine, Palestinian Muslims are restricted from pain in their places of worship. The Zionist entity is going too far. The following article explains it all. We would like our readers to share it widely.
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf said on Friday that Israel refuses to open all corridors of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to Muslim worshipers, as is customary on Fridays of Ramadan of each year.
The ministry added in a statement: “In a dangerous and unprecedented step, in its size and timing in the blessed month of Ramadan, and in a systematic plan to obstruct the opening of the mosque with its halls, courtyards, and corridors completely to Muslims, as is customary on Fridays of the month of Ramadan of each year, the occupation refused to hand over Ibrahimi with all its halls, squares and facilities to the Awqaf Department.”
It explained that the ceremony of receiving the mosque took place on “Friday night of Ramadan” each year, in preparation for its full opening to worshipers.
Fridays of Ramadan are among the “ten days (throughout the year) in which the Ibrahimi Mosque is fully open to Muslim worshippers”, it said.
The ministry said that “the employees of the endowments were surprised that the eastern door area was not opened by the occupation, which is an area designated for women in Friday prayers.”
The Palestinian Waqf called the move a “dangerous and surprising precedent.”
”Silence about this means devoting this new reality to preventing the opening of new sites every time in preparation for the full control of the Ibrahimi Mosque,” it said.
”This new and ongoing violation comes to satisfy the desire of the settlers, who reject the procedures for opening the compound completely to Muslim worshipers,” it said.
The Ministry of Awqaf expressed its rejection of the occupation measures to obstruct the opening and delivery of the Haram completely within the agreed days. Still, it refuses to receive the Haram within these measures that violate the rights of Palestinian Muslims.
The UNESCO Foundation, which placed the Ibrahimi Mosque on its list of World Heritage Sites, called for action to stop the hand of this occupation from its attacks and violations of the Tomb.
The Ibrahimi Mosque is located in the Old City of Hebron, which is under Israeli control and is home to about 400 settlers guarded by about 1,500 Israeli soldiers.
Following the massacre, in 1994 Israel divided the mosque by 63 percent for Jews and 37 percent for Muslims, and the part reserved for Jews was the call to prayer room.
It is customary to fully open the mosque to Muslims only 10 days a year, namely Fridays of the month of Ramadan, Laylat al-Qadr, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha, the night of Isra and Mi’raj, the Prophet’s birthday, and the Islamic New Year.
This came in conjunction with Israel’s imposition of severe restrictions on the access of Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to the city of Jerusalem for Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
In the West Bank, the Israeli army reportedly reinforced its forces at the crossings into Jerusalem, checked the identities of Palestinians, and refused entry to some because they did not have special permits.
Qalandia checkpoint north of Jerusalem and 300 checkpoints south of the city witnessed congestion at the entrance gates from the West Bank towards Jerusalem.
