Ramallah, Oct 8 (Petra) – Israeli occupation forces Wednesday closed the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron to Palestinian worshippers until Thursday evening on the Jewish holidays of Sukkot.

Hebron Waqf (endowments) Director Amjad Karajeh condemned the measure as "a blatant violation of the sanctity of the mosque and a flagrant violation of the right of Muslims to access their houses of worship." Jewish holidays are a recurring perennial nightmare for the Palestinians in Hebron, as they are usually accompanied by closures and tight military measures at checkpoints to obstruct Palestinian movement, especially in the Old City of Hebron and around the mosque.

Also in the occupied West Bank, Israeli troops staged search-and-arrest raids across towns and villages, and made arrests in the Al-Arroub refugee camp, north of Hebron.

The Palestinian Prisoners' Club said in a statement that troops raided dozens of homes in the camp, rounded up more than 50 people for interrogation, and detained 14 "wanted" people.

//Petra//SS