In one of the most sacred Muslim sanctuaries, and on the morning of the 15th day of the holy month of Ramadan in the year 1414 of the Hegira –the 25th of February 1994-, a despicable massacre was committed in the Holy Sanctuary in Hebron. This unspeakably evil butchery took place in a supposedly sacred house of prayer for Jews as well, when, early in the morning, Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli settler, IDF reservist and doctor went on a rampage inside Al Ibrahimi Mosque, the burial site of Prophet Isaac and his wife.
After the guards allowed him in with his weapon, Goldstein entered the Mosque and positioned himself behind a pillar to the rear of the Muslim worshippers. He waited until they were in the Sujood position, then opened his hateful fire on them, killing 29 worshippers and injuring tens of others. Had he not been eventually overwhelmed and killed by survivors, the number of casualties would have been much higher.
Following the massacre, Israeli occupation soldiers present in the Holy Sanctuary and its vicinity closed down the gates of the Mosque, preventing survivors from leaving and help from reaching the wounded and evacuating the victims. During the long closure, violent clashes erupted around the Mosque between Palestinians and Israeli forces in which four other Palestinians were killed and many wounded. Once news of the massacre spread out, angry Palestinians began rioting throughout Hebron, and the number of martyrs reached 50.
Again, the victims paid the price. The world stood and watched while Israel closed down The Holy Sanctuary for long months, then seized more than half its area and transformed it into a Jewish Synagogue. Muslim worshippers were prevented from reaching the Mosque, while more and more checkpoints mushroomed around it, making access to it very difficult.
Despite all these measures, Muslim worshippers continue to come in large numbers to pray at Al Ibrahimi Mosque, regardless of Israeli checkpoints and continuous settler crimes.