Dozens of Israeli flags adorn Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron

Israeli forces have adorned Hebron’s Ibrahimi Mosque with dozens of Israeli flags as part of ‘celebrations’ to mark Israel’s national memorial day, which commemorates the Israeli declaration of independence.  
 
Flags stretched along the perimeter of the mosque compound's high walls, in what many Palestinians see as an act of rampant provocation in the midst of a rising tide of Israeli violence across the Occupied West Bank. 

Hebron has been the site of Israeli aggression and land grabs for decades. 

الاحتلال يدنس المسجد الإبراهيمي الشريف في مدينة #الخليل ويرفع علمه على أسواره pic.twitter.com/tweFn7CKXZ

— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) April 23, 2023

In 1994, Jewish fanatic Baruch Goldstein burst into the sacred mosque during Ramadan prayers and opened fire with an Israeli assault rifle, killing at least 30 Palestinian worshippers. 

Until recently, Israel's national security minister and extremist settler Itamar Ben-Gvir displayed a picture of the murderer Goldstein in his offices. 

The mosque compound is holy to all three Abrahamic faiths - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - but Israel's expansionary settler movement has for years been keen claim the Prophet Abraham’s tomb. 

Nearly thirty years on since Goldstein’s massacre at the Ibrahimi Mosque, roughly 60 percent of the mosque compound is now accessible only for Jewish worshippers. 

Israel has continued its campaign of violence and escalation across the West Bank in recent days. 

Several Palestinians were injured and detained at dawn on Monday as Israel launched fresh raids in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli forces raided several homes in the flashpoint city of Nablus and took away two young men - Yazan Aslan and Ihab Abu Duhair - local sources told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Dozens of Palestinians have been arrested by Israeli forces since Eid al-Fitr on Friday, with four from occupied East Jerusalem released on Sunday.

The Israeli military has raided towns and villages across the West Bank nearly every day for over a year.

They and Israeli settlers have killed almost 100 Palestinians so far in 2023.