Occupation closes Ibrahimi Mosque to worshippers for two days

Israeli occupation forces closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to worshippers for two days, citing the need to secure settler celebrations of Jewish holidays. The mosque's director described the closure as an escalation and an attempt to seize parts of the mosque, asserting it is a purely Islamic site. The closure coincided with tightened military measures and the closure of checkpoints, hindering students' access to two schools and halting educational activities in one.

On Wednesday, September 16, 2026, Israeli occupation forces closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, to worshippers until Thursday evening. The closure was justified as necessary to secure settler celebrations of Jewish holidays. The mosque's director, Moutaz Abu Sneineh, described the closure as "continuous escalation and an attempt to seize what remains of the mosque's sections," emphasizing that the mosque is "a purely Islamic place in all its halls and courtyards," and considered the practices a "blatant violation of freedom of worship." Concurrently, occupation forces tightened military measures around the mosque, closing checkpoints and electronic gates leading to it, which hindered the access of students and teaching staff to the Al-Ibrahimiya Elementary School for Boys and the Al-Fayhaa Elementary School for Girls. These measures caused a complete halt to educational activities at the Al-Ibrahimiya school and disrupted them at Al-Fayhaa school. The article relies on a single source, the mosque director's statement, and uses loaded language to describe the occupation forces and their actions.