Palestinian newspaper quotes Islamic religious figure who accuses Israelis of “invading” the Cave of the Patriarchs and “Judaizing” it, and denies any Jewish “right” to the site
Headline: “Thousands of settlers carry out religious ceremonies at the Ibrahimi [Mosque], hundreds invade the Al-Aqsa Mosque and destroy 12 vehicles in Hawara – dozens of residents were wounded during clashes in Yatta and Beit Ummar”
“Yesterday [Oct. 10, 2017] an unprecedented escalation in the settlers’ attacks against the religious and civilian sites in the West Bank was recorded. The Israeli occupation forces continued yesterday – on the second consecutive day of the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) to Muslims in occupied Hebron (it was temporarily closed to Muslims for the Sukkot holiday, one of 10 days a year in which the entire site is accessible to Jews; 10 days of the year it is closed to Jews as Muslims are given total access –Ed.) – to protect more than 20,000 Jewish settlers who came to the mosque in order to hold ceremonies for the Sukkot holiday…
Director and Head of the Guardians of the Ibrahimi Mosque Sheikh Hafzi Abu Sneineh said that the occupation authorities are Judaizing Hebron in different ways, including through the media, while pointing out that the number of settlers who invaded the Ibrahimi Mosque during the Sukkot holiday that the Israeli media is noting is not precise, and that through this they are trying to draw additional settlers to visit Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque. [Abu Sneineh] said: ‘The Ibrahimi Mosque will remain a religious site for Muslims only, and the Jews have no right of any sort to it.’”
“Yesterday [Oct. 10, 2017] an unprecedented escalation in the settlers’ attacks against the religious and civilian sites in the West Bank was recorded. The Israeli occupation forces continued yesterday – on the second consecutive day of the closure of the Ibrahimi Mosque (i.e., Cave of the Patriarchs) to Muslims in occupied Hebron (it was temporarily closed to Muslims for the Sukkot holiday, one of 10 days a year in which the entire site is accessible to Jews; 10 days of the year it is closed to Jews as Muslims are given total access –Ed.) – to protect more than 20,000 Jewish settlers who came to the mosque in order to hold ceremonies for the Sukkot holiday…
Director and Head of the Guardians of the Ibrahimi Mosque Sheikh Hafzi Abu Sneineh said that the occupation authorities are Judaizing Hebron in different ways, including through the media, while pointing out that the number of settlers who invaded the Ibrahimi Mosque during the Sukkot holiday that the Israeli media is noting is not precise, and that through this they are trying to draw additional settlers to visit Hebron and the Ibrahimi Mosque. [Abu Sneineh] said: ‘The Ibrahimi Mosque will remain a religious site for Muslims only, and the Jews have no right of any sort to it.’”