PA falsely alleges that the Cave of Patriarchs massacre committed by far-right Israeli extremist was "planned by the topmost officials of the Israeli government"
A program in commemoration of the 19th anniversary of Baruch Goldstein’s massacre at the Cave of the Patriarchs.
Guests: District Governor of Hebron, Kamel Hamid. Mayor of Hebron, Dawud Al-Za’tari. Director of the Waqf in Hebron, Zayd Al-Ja’bari.
Mayor of Hebron, Dawud Al-Za’tari: “The occupation’s purpose, the goal is to Judaize the old city [in Hebron]. They see the city of Hebron as one of the main cities of Jewish rule, according to their claims, but we say that all those claims are false, just as they claim and try to expose the Temple of Solomon in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and all the excavations in the area of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which threaten the Al-Aqsa Mosque, in the same way, they say in their history that the Ibrahimi Mosque [the Cave of the Patriarchs] and Tel Rumeida and other areas of the old city [that] their history is connected to the Jewish history, and this of course is false.”
Director of the Waqf in Hebron, Zayd Al-Ja’bari: “The Shamgar Commission recommended dividing the site [of the cave]. [Goldstein’s] massacre was planned to begin with, while the commission sat, the division was already carried out in practice. These matters were planned by the topmost officials of the Israeli government.”
Cave of the Patriarchs massacre - 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 on Feb. 25, 1994. 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.