Hundreds of Jewish settlers on Saturday forced their way into the Ibrahimi mosque in the West Bank city of Hebron to celebrate the Chayevi Sarah Jewish holiday.
Dozens of Israeli forces were deployed across the alleys of Hebron’s old city, preventing Palestinians from approaching the site, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter.
Tension has been high in Hebron since Friday when extremist settlers attacked Palestinian homes in the city, injuring several people.
Revered by both Muslims and Jews, the Ibrahimi Mosque complex is believed to mark the burial sites of the prophets Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
After the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinian worshippers inside the mosque by Jewish extremist settler Baruch Goldstein, Israeli authorities divided the mosque complex between Muslim and Jewish worshippers.
Hebron is home to roughly 160,000 Palestinians and about 500 Jewish settlers. The latter live in a series of Jewish-only enclaves heavily guarded by Israeli troops.
