Fatah and PA officials: Cave of the Patriarchs “is a purely Islamic mosque where the Jews have no right”
Headline: “The occupation closed the Ibrahimi Mosque to the citizens for 24 hours”
“The occupation authorities yesterday [Aug. 8, 2018] announced their intention to close the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) for 24 hours due to the Jewish holidays (the site is closed to Muslims 10 days of the year for Jewish holidays, and closed to Jews 10 days of the year for Muslim holidays –Ed.)… Fatah Movement Revolutionary Council member and [Fatah] Movement Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi called on the members of our people everywhere they are, and particularly in the Hebron district, to go to the Ibrahimi Mosque and pray at its thresholds in order to emphasize our opposition to its closing, and that it is a purely Islamic mosque where the Jews have no right, and all of the steps that have been taken since 1994 (refers to security measures instituted to prevent attacks following the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre; see note below –Ed.) are invalid and must be cancelled… The [PA] Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places said that the fact that the Israeli occupation authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque and prevented the Muslims from entering under the pretext of the Jewish holidays constitutes a severe crime against the holy sites and places of worship, and particularly this mosque that constitutes a purely Islamic site…
Council Secretary-General [and Fatah Revolutionary Council member] Hanna Issa… emphasized that the Ibrahimi Mosque is a purely Islamic mosque where the Jews have no right, and that the steps that have been taken since 1994 and the forced division according to times are invalid and must be cancelled.”
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.
“The occupation authorities yesterday [Aug. 8, 2018] announced their intention to close the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) for 24 hours due to the Jewish holidays (the site is closed to Muslims 10 days of the year for Jewish holidays, and closed to Jews 10 days of the year for Muslim holidays –Ed.)… Fatah Movement Revolutionary Council member and [Fatah] Movement Spokesman Osama Al-Qawasmi called on the members of our people everywhere they are, and particularly in the Hebron district, to go to the Ibrahimi Mosque and pray at its thresholds in order to emphasize our opposition to its closing, and that it is a purely Islamic mosque where the Jews have no right, and all of the steps that have been taken since 1994 (refers to security measures instituted to prevent attacks following the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre; see note below –Ed.) are invalid and must be cancelled… The [PA] Islamic-Christian Council for Jerusalem and the Holy Places said that the fact that the Israeli occupation authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque and prevented the Muslims from entering under the pretext of the Jewish holidays constitutes a severe crime against the holy sites and places of worship, and particularly this mosque that constitutes a purely Islamic site…
Council Secretary-General [and Fatah Revolutionary Council member] Hanna Issa… emphasized that the Ibrahimi Mosque is a purely Islamic mosque where the Jews have no right, and that the steps that have been taken since 1994 and the forced division according to times are invalid and must be cancelled.”
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.