Israel settlers attack Palestinian worshippers in Ibrahimi Mosque with pepper spray

Palestinian worshippers at the Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron were assaulted by Israeli settlers yesterday during the evening prayer, reported Wafa news agency.

Under the protection of the Israeli occupied army, the Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinians with pepper spray, resulting in suffocation and burns among the worshippers in the Mosque. Videos shared by activists online reveal Palestinian worshippers, including the elderly, coughing and lying on the ground.

West Bank | Israeli settlers assaulted and suffocated worshippers inside the Ibrahimi Mosque while praying in Khalil pic.twitter.com/HYvn3ZBIWN

— TIMES OF GAZA (@Timesofgaza) December 19, 2023

There has been no official comment from the Israeli authorities regarding the attack.

Revered by both Muslims and Jews, Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque complex is believed to be the burial site of the prophets Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

After the 1994 massacre of 29 Palestinian worshippers inside the Mosque by a Jewish extremist settler, Baruch Goldstein, the Israeli authorities divided the Mosque complex between Muslim and Jewish worshippers.

UNESCO World Heritage Committee decided, in July 2017, to include the Ibrahimi Mosque and the old city of Hebron on its World Heritage List.

Hebron is home to roughly 160,000 Palestinian Muslims and about 500 illegal Jewish settlers. The latter live in a series of Jewish-only enclaves, heavily guarded by Israeli troops.

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