Hawzah News Agency (Occupied Palestine) - Israeli troops blocked, earlier on Thursday morning, maintenance works at the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque, an ancient United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-recognized part of Palestinian heritage.

Palestinian chief for the Holy Shrine and Muslim scholar, Hefdi Abusnaina, told media outlets that Israeli troops blocked, by force, some construction and maintenance works inside the mosque, under the pretext of lacking an Israeli permit.

Abusnaina noted that maintenance of the place is part of the Palestinian Ministry of Endowment and Religious Affairs’ mandate and that the Israeli obstruction of such works is a part of recent Israeli attempts to gain control over the Islamic holy shrine.

This Tuesday, Israeli occupation authorities reportedly prevented Palestinian Muslim worshipers from reaching the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque, named after Abraham, believed to be the first-ever prophet or messenger of God.

The obstruction came hours after the Palestinian Authority (PA) decided to ease some precautionary measures against the Coronavirus.

On May 3, Israeli Defense Minister, Naftali Bennet, endorsed a new colonial settlement project in the Palestinian city of Hebron, including confiscation of large areas of Palestinian lands, located in the vicinity of the Al-Ibrahmi Mosque.

The planned project is said to include construction of a settlers-only bypass road that would facilitate the entry of colonial settlers into the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque.

The West Bank city of Al - Khalil is surrounded by a number of colonial settlements, particularly near the Al-Ibrahimi Mosque. Those, like all Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, as they are built on Palestinian lands, which Israel occupied back in 1967.