Israeli forces decided Monday to bar Sheikh Moataz Abu Sneineh, the director of the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron, from the site for 15 days, Anadolu Agency reports.
The order came hours after the military sealed off parts of mosque from the local waqf directorate, escalating tensions over the holy site.
“The mosque staff discovered that Israeli authorities had placed locks and chains on all internal room doors in the occupied section, including the call-to-prayer room and Waqf office,” Jamal Abu Aram, director of the Hebron Waqf department, told Anadolu.
“Later, one employee was banned from the mosque for 14 days,” he said. “Sheikh Moataz Abu Sneineh and another staff member were detained for over five hours before being handed 15-day expulsion orders.”
Abu Aram labeled the actions as a continuation of Israel’s strategy “to dominate the mosque and strip the waqf of authority over its sections.”
The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs said in a statement that the locking of the rooms set “a dangerous precedent” aimed at undermining its sovereignty.
Quoting Abu Sneineh, the ministry asserted that all mosque shrines and corridors belong to the Islamic waqf, which holds legal custody of their keys. He condemned the locks as “a blatant and serious assault on the sanctity of these inviolable places.”
Israel has not commented on the matter.
The measures follow Israel’s refusal last Ramadan to open all mosque corridors to worshippers during key occasions like Eid al-Fitr, Laylat al-Qadr and Fridays—breaking with tradition—according to the ministry’s earlier statements.
Since 1994, after a Jewish settler killed 29 Palestinian worshippers, Israel divided the mosque, allotting 63%—including the call-to-prayer room—to Jews and 37% to Muslims.
A subsequent Israeli inquiry committee set terms allowing Muslims full access for only 10 days annually, including Ramadan Fridays, Laylat al-Qadr, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, the Night of Isra and Mi’raj, the Prophet’s Birthday and the Islamic New Year, while Jews gain full access for 10 days tied to their religious holidays.
The Ibrahimi Mosque remains under Israeli control, with about 400 Jewish settlers living in Hebron’s Old City, protected by 1,500 Israeli soldiers.
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