Hebron, MINA – Palestinian authorities have firmly rejected an Israeli request to construct a roof over the courtyard of the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, Anadolu Agency reported.
“We reject the occupation’s request to roof the mosque courtyard as it harms its historical and heritage status and infringes on the exclusive Palestinian powers on the site,” Minister of Endowments and Religious Affairs Mohammad Najm stated on Tuesday.
Najm reaffirmed that his ministry holds full authority over the site, including restoration and repair work, even in the occupied section. “We will not accept, in any form, any diminishing of our authority,” he stressed.
The Ibrahimi Mosque was divided between Muslim and Jewish worshippers following the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinian worshippers by Jewish extremist Baruch Goldstein. The site remains a flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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In 2017, UNESCO designated the mosque and Hebron’s old city as a World Heritage Site, recognizing its cultural and historical significance.
Hebron is home to around 160,000 Palestinian Muslims and approximately 500 Jewish settlers living in heavily guarded enclaves. Tensions have escalated across the West Bank, where at least 934 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 wounded since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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