Israeli forces have closed the historic Ibrahimi Mosque in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron to worshippers. A curfew has been imposed on Palestinians in Hebron’s Old City.

Israel took the step to allow illegal Jewish settlers in the area to celebrate a religious festival, local human rights activists reported on Saturday.

Aref Jaber, a member of the Hebron Defense Committee and a resident of the area, told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency that the Israeli army has imposed a curfew in several neighborhoods of the Old City since Friday morning.

He said that the Israeli army has closed all military checkpoints leading to the Old City and is not allowing Palestinians to enter or leave the area.

As a result, many Palestinian residents there were unable to return to their homes and were forced to spend the night in other parts of Hebron, Jaber said.

Jaber also said that hundreds of illegal Jewish settlers marched into the Old City on Friday night and Saturday morning. They also held a “provocative” procession on the streets of the city.

Jaber described the march of settlers, which was guarded by the Israeli army, as a “provocative” procession.

He said that the curfew, which is preventing Muslims from entering the Ibrahimi Mosque, comes amid Israeli efforts to seize it and convert it into a synagogue.

Jews celebrated a religious festival in Hebron in the West Bank on Friday and Saturday as part of “Sarah’s Day.” The festival is celebrated every year. It commemorates the city’s once-homeland.