Palestinians warn Netanyahu against Hebron visit

A reported plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visit the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron raised the ire of Palestinians on Sunday, as both the Fatah and Hamas movements issued stern warnings against the move.

In a statement, the Hamas terror group called the visit “a severe escalation.”

“We warn the criminal Netanyahu of the consequence of storming and desecrating the noble Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron city, and we consider this a serious escalation to which our people won’t remain silent,” Hamas spokesman Izzat al-Rishiq wrote in a statement.

The Fatah movement of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas responded to the report by declaring it would act against the visit.

“The Ibrahimi Mosque is sacred Muslim property and… we will defend all our holy places,” a spokesman said, according to Israel Radio.

The site, known as the Ibrahimi Mosque to Muslims, is holy to both Jews and Muslims, who consider it the burial place of the Patriarch Abraham.

The visit, thought to be planned to shore up Netanyahu’s bona fides ahead of elections, was first reported on by right-wing Israeli news site Israel National News. Netanyahu spokesperson Mark Regev said the visit is not on the prime minister’s schedule.

President Reuven Rivlin visited the divided city earlier this month, sparking low-level clashes between members of the local Jewish community and Israeli left-wing protesters who opposed the visit.

Hebron’s small community of Jewish settlers is a major point of contention, and Rivlin’s visit was protested by activists from the left-wing Meretz party and the Breaking the Silence human rights organization.

Last week Netanyahu visited the Eli settlement in the northern West Bank.