Israeli Provocation: Settlers Burn Palestinian Flags at Ibrahimi Mosque Under Minister’s Lead
The incident took place during early morning hours when Israeli forces blocked dozens of Palestinian worshippers from entering the mosque.
Smotrich, a far-right figure in the regime’s cabinet, addressed a crowd of settlers and religious figures gathered at the sacred Muslim site.
Imad Abu Shamsiyeh, co-founder of Human Rights Defenders in the adjacent Tel Rumeida neighborhood, said the settlers carried effigies bearing Palestinian, Fatah, and Hamas flags.
These were torched amid loud music and flag-waving celebrations, in what he characterized as a “premeditated” act aimed at asserting dominance over the contested site.
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“There were clear signs of premeditated Israeli intentions to launch an action against the Ibrahimi Mosque and the nearby neighborhoods,” Abu Shamsiyeh noted, according to the New Arab.
He added that settlers had entered al-Khalil from surrounding settlements, with the procession originating from Kiryat Arba—an illegal Israeli settlement. The group marched through the sealed-off areas of al-Khalil’s Old City, including Tel Rumeida and Shuhada Street, before entering the mosque compound.
According to Jamal Abu Aram, head of Hebron's Islamic Endowments office, Israeli forces sealed all mosque gates shortly after Muslim worshippers began arriving for dawn prayers. He said that security forces fired stun grenades, forcing worshippers, including mosque director Sheikh Moataz Abu Sneineh, to pray outside.
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Palestinian officials said no advance notice was given by Israeli authorities, which deviates from customary security coordination procedures. Notably, the event did not coincide with any Jewish religious observance—raising further questions about its timing and intent.
The Ibrahimi Mosque has remained under Israeli occupation since 1994, when an Israeli settler massacred 29 Palestinian worshippers. Since then, Israel has divided the site, allocating 63 percent - including the call-to-prayer area - to Jewish settlers, and the remaining 37 percent to Muslims. Today, around 400 settlers live in Hebron's Old City under the protection of 1,500 Israeli soldiers.
Source: Agencies
