Tag: Ibrahimi Mosque - Page 2 - International Solidarity Movement

Worshippers for Ramadan prayer harassed by settlers and soldiers

1 July 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On 1st July 2016, Israeli forces severly restricted access to Ibrahimi mosque in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron) for noon-prayer, while settlers were demonstrating at a checkpoint nearby the mosque.

After pregnant 27-year old Sarah Tarayra was gunned down by Israeli forces at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint in the morning, the mosque checkpoint stayed closed for more than two hours, while Palestinians intending to attend the noon-prayer of the last Friday of Ramadan, were queuing up at the checkpoint, but denied access. Upon inquiry, Israeli forces gave the information that they would open the checkpoint eventually, but refused giving a time. With all checkpoints leading to the mosque from other directions open for passage, it is unclear why the Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint was closed down for such a long time. At some point, about 150 Palestinians were gathered at the locked gates, on their way to noon-prayer.

Palestinians stuck at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint, as Israeli forces deny to open the checkpoint — Palestinians stuck at Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint, as Israeli forces refuse to open the checkpoint

On all the other checkpoints, restrictions and checks were increased, with Palestinians only allowed to pass one-by-one, an increase in bag-searches of women and body-searches of male adults and youths. Once Ibrahimi mosque checkpoint was finally opened, all women and girls were stopped for bag-searches, considerably slowing down the process.

Israeli settlers set up a protest at a checkpoint on the other side of Ibrahimi mosque, waving huge Israeli flags. Several of them attacked Palestinians and had to be stopped by Israeli forces. The settlers were chanting and yelling, and Israeli forces moved back Palestinians ready for prayer in order to create a greater distance. Israeli forces, additionally, missappropriated a Palestinian family home to use it’s roof as a look-out over the events.

Israeli settlers with flags attacking two female Palestinians on their way to prayer

Once the prayer was finished, Israeli forces arbitrarily at some point stopped anyone on their way home, quickly leading to large groups of Palestinians gathering as they were forced to wait while settlers passed on the street.

Israeli forces stopping any Palestinian in order to allow free movement of settlers

These kind of infringements and restrictions on the basic human right of freedom of religion and to practice one’s religion in occupied al-Khalil, is rather the norm than the exception for Palestinians.

Infamous settler Anat Cohen disrupts peaceful commemoration

27th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On Wednesday evening, 24^th February 2015, a commemoration for the victims of the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in occupied al-Khalil (Hebron), was interrupted by infamous settlers attacking the group of Palestinians and internationals peacefully remembering those killed and the implications of this massacre on basic Palestinians rights.

Infamous and violent settler, Anat Cohen

The residents of the Salaymeh neighbourhood which is located directly next to the Ibrahimi Mosque, have been gathering every day around a nightly bonfire for the last few months. Doing so as an act of defiance against settlers from the illegal settlements, foremost among them infamous settler Baruch Marzel, gathering at a settler-only bus-stop across the street. With their presence, the Palestinians are demonstrating that despite the lethal and non-lethal violence they have to face by settlers, they will not be intimidated by them.

Candles lit in memory of those lost in the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre of '94 — Candles lit in memory of those lost in the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre of ’94

On Wednesday evening, Palestinians and international supporters gathered in an event organised by Youth Against Settlements as part of their Open Shuhada Street campaign. With the importance of this gathering being to stress the vital yet peacefully displayed acts of resistance and defiance against the settlers and Israeli forces’ continuous acts of intimidation, harassment and violence. For the families, the event can and will never be linked to any organisation or party, but will always stay an act of popular resistance any person is invited and welcome to join, as it’s not a one-time event that gives them a feeling of security and solidarity, but the everyday gathering around this symbolic bonfire that is called the ‘tanakeh’ (Arabic word for the barrel the bonfire is lit in).

Candles were lit in commemoration of the victims of the 1994 Ibrahimi Mosque massacre, in which extremist settler Baruch Goldstein murdered 29 and injured more than 120 worshipers in the Ibrahimi Mosque in cold blood. In the aftermath of this heinous massacre, the Ibrahimi Mosque was divided and the main Palestinian market in Shuhada Street completely closed for Palestinians.

Israeli forces push back Palestinians — Israeli forces

While a documentary about this massacre was screened, Israeli forces at the nearby checkpoint detained three Palestinian men and a girl that were on their way to join the event. Two heavily armed Israeli settlers stopped their car next to the Palestinians that had been detained for already more than half an hour for no reason, and getting out of the car threatened Palestinians. Even though they left, another settler, infamous violent Anat Cohen, arrived and slowly and deliberately drove her car into a big group of Palestinians gathered at the side of the road while insulting them through her open car window. The Israeli forces refused to intervene and let her drive off. She immediately made a u-turn and came back, got out of the car and started threatening, intimidating and attacking Palestinians and internationals, hitting them and trying to slap cameras out of their hands.

More Israeli forces arrive to push back non violent Palestinians

The whole time, the soldiers at the checkpoint were merely watching and refused to intervene and stop the violent assaults. Instead, as more soldiers arrived, they started violently pushing back the Palestinians.

At the end of an event supposed to peacefully commemorate the heinous massacre committed 22 years ago – two Palestinians had to be brought to hospital as a direct result of Israeli forces’ violent assault on a group of people that were being attacked by an infamously violent settler – apparently the only person the Israeli forces were willing to protect as she was allowed to leave without any consequences for the disruption of the peaceful event, the harassment or the violent assaults.

An ambulance arrives to take away injured Palestinians

22 years after the Ibrahimi mosque massacre, Palestinians still suffer consequences

25th February 2016 | International Solidarity Movement, al-Khalil team | Hebron, occupied Palestine

On the 25th of February 1994, a US citizen residing in the illegal Kiryat Arba settlement entered the Ibrahimi mosque in the early morning during the month of Ramadan. Baruch Goldstein, dressed in his army uniform, opened fire on the Palestinians that were crammed inside for the prayer. He killed 29 men and boys and injured dozens before people overpowered him and beat him to death.

That day, many more Palestinians were killed in Hebron during riots protesting the massacre that had occurred, in front of the mosque and the hospital where the injured were treated, as well as in the cemetery were the dead were being buried. In the next few days, protests and marches happened all over the West Bank and across historic Palestine. It is believed that in total, in these few days, 50 to 70 Palestinians were killed, and over 250 were injured.

Immediately after the attack, the Israeli government released a statement condemning this act and affirming that Goldstein was acting on his own behalf. The Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin called Goldstein a “degenerate murderer, a shame on Zionism and an embarrassment to Judaism.” Rabin always affirmed that Goldstein acted on his own behalf and that the Israeli military had no knowledge of his plans. Though his act was condemned, it resulted in many measures that mostly impacted on Palestinians. Instead of evacuating the settlements of Hebron, only a few of the most extreme settlers were temporarily disarmed.

A round-the-clock curfew was imposed. Shops in Shuhada Street were forced shut by the Israeli army, on the pretext of keeping settlers safe on this commercial artery. Many other shops also had to close due to lack of supplies and customers. New checkpoints were installed. Palestinians were first banned from driving and then simply from accessing most of Shuhada Street. Much of these measures resulted in the displacement of many Palestinian families.

In 1997, a protocol was signed between Israel and the PLO, dividing Hebron into two areas: “H1”, controlled by Israeli forces, and “H2”, under Palestinian control. It called for the withdrawal of Israeli soldiers from the H1, which represented 80% of the city. To this day, even though H1 is officially controlled by the Palestinian Authority, it remains under overall Israeli control, while H2 is now the home to many violent and extremist settlers. Some of them still go every year to the tomb of Baruch Goldstein to celebrate his treacherous act of murder.

22 years later, all measures that were declared in Hebron on the 25^th of February, 1994 are still enforced, except for the curfew. And settlers are more than ever taking over the city, with the compliance of the Israeli government.

The last tiny bit of Shuhada Street, that was not (yet) declared a ‘sterile zone’ and thus been completely barred for Palestinians, has been under repeated ‘closed military zone’ orders since 1st November 2015. Whereas the majority of Shuhada Street has been completely unaccessible for Palestinians, the tiny strip leading from the recently ‘renovated’ Shuhada checkpoint up to the illegal Beit Hadassah settlement, is slowly resembling a ‘ghost street’ more and more, as only Palestinians registered with the Israeli army are allowed to go there.

The closed military zone order is an illegal collective punishment on the whole Palestinian population of this area, that was forced to register in order to be allowed to live in their own houses whereas settlers in the adjacent illegall settlements can walk the roads freely and completely undisturbed. This clearly is just another step in the Israeli policy of making life for Palestinians as hard and humiliating as possible in an attempt to make them leave the area and eventually drive all of them out and connect the settlements.

Every year, Palestinians in occupied al-Khalil commemorate the Ibrahimi mosque massacre and protest against the closure of Shuhada Street and the illegal Israeli occupation. The week, leading up to the 22nd anniversary of the massacre, has seen and will continue to see creative activities and demonstrations. This past week there were also many commemorations of Palestinians, most of whom have been gunned down by Israeli forces and left to bleed to death without any medical help.

Israeli military drags its boots and guns into Ibrahimi Mosque

by Caroline Nordhammer

21 December 2011 | International Solidarity Movement, West Bank

Soldiers from the Israeli military entered the Ibrahimi Mosque located in the Old City of Hebron on December 21 in the afternoon. Male and female soldiers entered the mosque and the men’s place for prayer in what appeared to be a tour of some kind. It is a custom within Islam to take off shoes and for women to cover their hair when entering a mosque. Despite this custom, soldiers did not take off their shoes and female soldiers in the group did not cover their hair.

Furthermore, two of the soldiers where heavily armed in order to “protect” the group of soldiers. International volunteers from the ISM who happened to be in the mosque at this time asked soldiers why they entered the mosque. The soldiers responded that they “wanted to visit the mosque.”

ISM volunteers further questioned the soldiers’ choice to enter the mosque with shoes and weapons, and why the female soldiers did not consider the custom to cover their hair, but were refused an answer.

The refusal of the soldiers to consider religious customs while walking into a religious sanctuary should be put in the context of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank which is illegal under international law.

Recently, soldiers stationed in the occupied area of Hebron known as H2 have raided several homes, entered Palestinian property and either participated or done little to stop escalating violence and harassment committed by Israeli settlers living in the area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okoiSEvG-98?rel=0 After settlers occupied the parts of the Old City in the city centre of Hebron in the middle of the 1970s, Israel has imposed several apartheid laws including a heavy military presence, watchtowers, checkpoints, street barriers, road closures, house evictions and forced displacements which aims at restricting and controlling Palestinians only.

While soldiers and settlers move around freely inside the occupied area, Palestinians who want to enter the mosque, face many difficulties as a consequence of these restrictions and apartheid measures.

ISM consider today’s event and the obvious neglect of religious and cultural customs a severe violation of Palestinian human dignity and integrity.

Caroline Nordhammer is a volunteer with International Solidarity Movement (name has been changed)

Hebron’s women march in protest to the Judaization of the Ibrahimi mosque

3 March 2010

Today over a 100 Palestinian women marched Hebron’s streets to resist Ibrahim’s mosque becoming an Israeli Heritage Site. The Women’s Empowerment Project gathered women from Hebron district to march from Hebron’s Muncipality down to the mosque. The exclusively female crowd chanted and held banners while peacefully, but decisively demonstrating. At the checkpoint, the women had to wait for approximately 20 minutes before being allowed entrance into the mosque. An overall elated atmosphere affirmed this was a powerful demonstration, illuminating the power of women, while simultaneously empowering women to take resistance out on the streets.

On 21 February 2010, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu announced the Israeli government’s intention to designate the Ibrahimi Mosque in Al-Khalil (Hebron) to become an Israeli Heritage Site. The shrine, located in the ancient city of Hebron, is considered to be sacred by Moslims, Jews and Christians. Supposedly it is the burial place for three Biblical couples: Abraham and Sara, Isaac and Rebekah and Jacob and Leah.

Netanyahu’s statement has caused increased tensity in Hebron. The Palestinian population fears that this entails a “Judaization of the Ibrahimi mosque” with restricted access to the Mosque for Muslims. In the past ten days several demonstrations and clashes between the Palestinian population of Al-Khalil and the Israeli army have taken place. In contrast to these previous demonstrations, today’s march was not met with IOF violence, nor were there any arrests made.