Israeli forces have closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, to Palestinian worshippers as thousands of Israeli settlers converge on the site for a Jewish religious celebration, Al Jazeera reported.

Source: Al Jazeera

The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments said worshippers and mosque employees had been barred from entering the mosque and that the call to prayer had been suspended.

Mosque director Moataz Abu Sneineh told Al Jazeera that Israeli authorities intended to open the mosque's prayer halls and courtyards exclusively to Israelis for the duration of the closure.

Israeli troops tightened checkpoints and restricted movement across Hebron's Old City, where the mosque stands, preventing some residents from entering or leaving their homes, Al Jazeera reported.

Israeli forces told The Jerusalem Post they expected about 20,000 visitors at the site for the holiday, with hundreds of security personnel deployed.

A site sacred to two faiths

The Ibrahimi Mosque, known to Jews as the Cave of the Patriarchs, is revered by Muslims and Jews as the burial site of the Prophet Abraham and members of his family — which is why control of its courtyards is one of the most sensitive questions in Hebron.

Under the 1997 Hebron Agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Israel assumed security control over the Old City, while Hebron's Palestinian municipality holds planning and construction powers.

Days after a 10-day siege ended

The closure comes just days after Israeli forces ended a 10-day siege of Hebron, which Al Jazeera reported saw hundreds of arrests, 15 home demolitions and the displacement of more than 3,300 Palestinians — a campaign Awaaz Punjab has tracked day by day as the displaced toll climbed past 3,000.

For Hebron's Palestinian residents, the weekend closure lands on top of weeks of raids, demolitions and displacement, and it keeps one of Islam's holiest sites — and the Old City around it — under a security cordon until Saturday night.