Palestine decries Netanyahu's planned visit to Hebron

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Palestine on Tuesday condemned planned visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Hebron city (Al-Khalil) in the occupied West Bank.

Netanyahu's visit is "racial and colonial," Palestinian Foreign Ministry said, noting that the visit comes at the time he is seeking to secure more votes from the right wing.

It pointed out that the visit comes also within the framework of "Israeli plans to Judaize the old city of Hebron, including the Ibrahimi Mosque."

Netanyahu plans to visit Al-Khalil and its old town including the Ibrahimi Mosque on Wednesday to take part in an event set to mark the 90th anniversary of a riot which took place in the city, during which 60 Jews were killed.

Al-Khalil is home to the Ibrahimi Mosque compound which the Jews refer to as "Cave Machpelah" and in Western media as "Cave of the Patriarchs," since it is believed to contain the graves of the prophets Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

For its part, Palestinian Ministry of Endowments called on the international community and international organizations to "assume legal and moral responsibility towards the suffering of the Palestinian people in Al-Khalil."

The visit is "a serious escalation, prejudice to the feelings of Muslims and may drag the region to a religious war with un-expected consequences," the ministry added.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat