LONDON: Israeli settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa compound in East Jerusalem’s Old City almost 20 times in February, according to a monthly report by the Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs.
The ministry also reported that the number of Israeli settlers touring the Al-Aqsa compound under police protection increased in February. During the same period, Israeli authorities blocked calls to prayer at the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron a total of 44 times.
Israeli authorities prevented some employees from accessing the mosque in February following the removal of the mosque’s director, Sheikh Moataz Abu Sneineh, from the site, the ministry said.
Access to the mosque, located in Hebron’s Old City, is possible only through an Israeli military checkpoint that surrounds the area.
The ministry condemned the Israeli escalation in Jerusalem and Hebron as Israel announced new restrictions on access to Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan, which began on Saturday. It said that measures introduced at Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque were an attempt to “empty the mosque of its people and employees.”
Israeli violations were also documented against several West Bank mosques during night raids and military operations in February. These included Barqa Mosque, northwest of Nablus, and Salah Al-Din Mosque in the town of Abu Dis, in East Jerusalem.
In Kasra village, south of Nablus, the ministry said Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters in front of the town’s mosque during the Maghreb call to prayer, causing difficulty in breathing for some worshippers inside the mosque.
The ministry urged international organizations to halt Israeli violations in order to preserve religious, heritage, and historical sites in Palestine, according to a statement.
