PA Directorate of Religion condemns holding of Jewish wedding in Cave of the Patriarchs: “The settlers who defile it [the Cave] must be removed from it”
Headline: "The Directorate of Religion condemned the holding of a settlers' wedding within the [Ibrahimi] Mosque"
"Several Hebrew websites published a video showing a wedding celebration at the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs), and after checking, it turned out that the Directorate [of Religion] (i.e., branch of the PA Ministry of Religious affairs) workers did not notice anything unusual in the area of the mosque and inside it, which confirms that the aforementioned party was held at night, as can be seen in the aforementioned video, and after the evening prayers, at a time when the mosque is completely locked and the Directorate workers are forced to leave it…
The Directorate of Religion condemned the grave blow to the sanctity of the pure place and held the occupation authorities responsible for the consequences of this grave act, especially at the time of the anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre (i.e., carried out by Baruch Goldstein, 29 murdered). This shows the level of contempt and indifference of the occupation and its settlers toward the Muslims' sensibilities and their holy sites, and also that the occupation forces allow the settlers to behave as they wish and to bring whatever they want into the mosque, which constitutes a danger to the mosque and its worshippers.
The directorate called on all the local and international institutions, and particularly UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), to intervene immediately in order to limit this irresponsible and grave absurdity, which is being carried out in the fourth holiest site to Muslims, and which does not take their sensibilities into account at all. It also emphasized a repeated demand, which is strengthened by the facts on the ground, that full Islamic sovereignty over the Ibrahimi Mosque must be returned, and that the settlers who defile it must be removed from it."
Cave of the Patriarchs massacre - On Feb. 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein, a member of an Israeli far-right movement, opened fire on Muslims praying inside the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, known to Muslims as the "Ibrahimi Mosque," murdering 29 and wounding 125. Following the attack, which was widely condemned by Israeli leaders and Jewish communities abroad, the Israeli government took concrete steps to prevent similar attacks from occurring by dividing the area of worship into Muslim and Jewish sections and designating several extremist movements, including Goldstein’s, as illegal terrorist groups.
"Several Hebrew websites published a video showing a wedding celebration at the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs), and after checking, it turned out that the Directorate [of Religion] (i.e., branch of the PA Ministry of Religious affairs) workers did not notice anything unusual in the area of the mosque and inside it, which confirms that the aforementioned party was held at night, as can be seen in the aforementioned video, and after the evening prayers, at a time when the mosque is completely locked and the Directorate workers are forced to leave it…
The Directorate of Religion condemned the grave blow to the sanctity of the pure place and held the occupation authorities responsible for the consequences of this grave act, especially at the time of the anniversary of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre (i.e., carried out by Baruch Goldstein, 29 murdered). This shows the level of contempt and indifference of the occupation and its settlers toward the Muslims' sensibilities and their holy sites, and also that the occupation forces allow the settlers to behave as they wish and to bring whatever they want into the mosque, which constitutes a danger to the mosque and its worshippers.
The directorate called on all the local and international institutions, and particularly UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), to intervene immediately in order to limit this irresponsible and grave absurdity, which is being carried out in the fourth holiest site to Muslims, and which does not take their sensibilities into account at all. It also emphasized a repeated demand, which is strengthened by the facts on the ground, that full Islamic sovereignty over the Ibrahimi Mosque must be returned, and that the settlers who defile it must be removed from it."
Cave of the Patriarchs massacre - On Feb. 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein, a member of an Israeli far-right movement, opened fire on Muslims praying inside the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, known to Muslims as the "Ibrahimi Mosque," murdering 29 and wounding 125. Following the attack, which was widely condemned by Israeli leaders and Jewish communities abroad, the Israeli government took concrete steps to prevent similar attacks from occurring by dividing the area of worship into Muslim and Jewish sections and designating several extremist movements, including Goldstein’s, as illegal terrorist groups.