AL KHALIL (HEBRON), May 18 (IslamOnline) - Prayers in the Abrahamic mosque in the West Bank city of Al Khalil is different from prayers in any other mosque. Israeli occupation forces are closely searching worshippers before entering the mosque and at many times the ‘Azan’ (call for prayers) is barred.

The suffering of the worshippers during the Friday prayers, for example, starts from the time they leave their homes and head towards the mosque. Since all streets leading to the mosque have been closed by Israeli barricades, the worshippers have to walk hundreds of meters and sometimes thousands of meters to reach the mosque’s gate passing through the old markets and alleys of Al Khalil.

After reaching the main south gate of the mosque, the worshippers find themselves facing Israeli soldiers on both sides of the street. They then go towards six electronic gates behind which Israeli soldiers are standing, aiming their rifles at the worshippers, their fingers on the trigger button and their colored glasses hiding the movement of their eyes.

From this point, no one can enter through the gates and everyone is searched by placing all the contents of his pockets in a special box and then they walk through without a piece of metal on their bodies.

A few meters away, the worshippers go towards the only gate which the Palestinians are allowed to go through and here they must pass three other electronic gates until they reach the prayer area inside the mosque.

The Israeli occupation forces have closed the Abrahamic mosque from April 21 to May 5 in order to update the surveillance systems inside it. This update included developing the gates as well as placing tens of cameras inside the mosque and outside it.

Palestinians regard this step, after dividing the mosque, as a step towards making it Jewish, which will lead to the end of the old village in Al Khalil.

Sheikh Tayseer Bayoud Al Tamimi, the vice supreme judge in Palestine told Islam Online after the Friday prayers on May 17, that the latest changes enforced by the Israeli forces is considered a breach of the freedom of worship and a step towards completely taking over the mosque after a part of it was occupied by Jewish settlers following the 1994 massacre.

In this massacre, which took place on February 25, 1994, the Israeli forces led by Barokh Goldstein, an Israeli soldier who is of American origins, along with Jewish settlers from the Karyat Arba colonial settlement attacked the worshippers who have been praying the dawn prayers inside the Abrahamic mosque.

Nearly 90 worshippers were killed on that day with almost triple the number injured.

Al Tamimi said that more than 12 gates to the mosque are closed and there is only one door that is opened. He added that if the soldiers saw any movement that they didn’t like from a worshiper they stopped him for questioning. He also said that the occupation forces have occupied a nearby home and have turned it into a military post.

“The residents of Al Khalil in the past considered visiting the mosque as an important part of their social life such as in weddings or when they return from haj [pilgrimage],” he said.

On his part, Sheikh Maher Maswadi, the imam of the mosque, said that the occupation forces barred the muazen (person who calls for prayers) from performing the azan on Friday dawn adding that this has happened regularly ever since they upgraded the surveillance systems inside the mosque.

In his Friday speech, Sheikh Maswadi warned of the danger of the Israeli goals in changing the mosque and called on the worshippers to keep up their prayers inside it to prevent them from turning it into a Jewish site.

Saeed Abu Subhi, a resident who has been praying inside the mosque for more than 60 years said: “These days are tough and the mosque has never been through similar circumstances. People used to come from all parts of Palestine and the nearby villages to pray in this mosque. Now however, there is hardly anyone.”