RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL

Israeli forces have maintained a curfew on Palestinians in the Old City of Hebron in the southern West Bank and closed the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslim worshippers to allow illegal settlers to mark a Jewish holiday, local activists said Saturday.

The army has enforced the curfew since Friday morning across multiple neighborhoods of the old city, Aref Jaber, a member of the non-governmental Hebron Defense Committee and a resident of the area, told Anadolu.

Jaber said Israeli forces shut military checkpoints leading to the old city and barred all entry and exit.

Many Palestinian residents were unable to return to their homes and were forced to stay overnight with relatives elsewhere in Hebron, he added.

The activist said hundreds of illegal settlers entered the old city Friday night and again Saturday morning, marching through its streets in what he described as “provocative” processions under heavy Israeli military guard.

He said the curfew comes amid Israeli attempts to seize full control of the rest of the Ibrahimi Mosque and convert it into a synagogue.

The settler celebration is part of Sara’s Day, a Jewish religious occasion held annually in Hebron to promote the narrative of a historic Jewish presence in the city.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments, Israeli authorities have continued to close the Souq gate of the Ibrahimi Mosque daily and have kept the eastern gate shut, including covering its windows, since early 2025.

The Ibrahimi Mosque lies in Hebron’s old city, which is under full Israeli control and home to about 400 illegal settlers guarded by roughly 1,500 Israeli soldiers.

Israel divided the mosque in 1994, allocating 63 percent for Jewish worship and 37 percent for Muslims, after an illegal settler massacre killed 29 Palestinian worshippers. The section designated for Jewish worship includes the call-to-prayer room.

Under unilateral Israeli arrangements, the mosque is fully closed to Muslims 10 days a year for Jewish religious holidays and fully closed to Jews on 10 Islamic occasions.

However, Israel has not honored full access for Muslims during their holidays since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.