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Cave of the Patriarchs massacre

1994 crimes in the Palestinian territories1994 in IsraelCave of the Patriarchs massacreDeaths by firearm in the West BankFebruary 1994 events in Asia
Jewish extremist terrorismJews and Judaism in HebronMass murder in 1994Massacres in 1994Massacres in religious buildings and structuresMassacres in the Palestinian territoriesMassacres of PalestiniansPages containing links to subscription-only contentSpree shootings in AsiaTerrorist incidents in Asia in 1994Terrorist incidents in HebronTerrorist incidents in the Palestinian territoriesViolence against MuslimsWikipedia extended-confirmed-protected pages
Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs
Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs

The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre, also known as the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre or the Hebron massacre, was a shooting massacre carried out by Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli physician and extremist of the far-right ultra-Zionist Kach movement. On 25 February 1994, during the Jewish holiday of Purim, which had overlapped in that year with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Goldstein opened fire with an assault rifle on a large gathering of Palestinian Muslims praying in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. He killed 29 people, several as young as 12 years, and wounded 125. Goldstein was overpowered and beaten to death by survivors. The atrocity strained the Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Accords peace process, immediately setting off mass protests by Palestinians throughout the West Bank. During the ensuing clashes, a further 20 to 26 Palestinians were killed while 120 were injured in confrontations with the Israeli military, and 9 Israeli Jews were also killed.Goldstein was widely denounced in Israel and by communities in the Jewish diaspora, with many attributing his act to insanity. Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin condemned the attack, describing Goldstein as a "degenerate murderer" and "a shame on Zionism and an embarrassment to Judaism". Some Jewish settlers in Hebron lauded him as a hero, viewing his attack as a pre-emptive strike and his subsequent death as an act of martyrdom. Following statements in support of Goldstein's actions, the Jewish ultranationalist Kach party was banned and designated a terrorist organization by the Israeli government.

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Cave of the Patriarchs massacre
Shapira Gate, Hebron Avraham Avinu Neighborhood

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N 31.5243 ° E 35.1118 °
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البلدة القديمة في الخليل

Shapira Gate
150 Hebron, Avraham Avinu Neighborhood
Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Territories
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Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs
Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs
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Cave of the Patriarchs
Cave of the Patriarchs

The Cave of the Patriarchs or Tomb of the Patriarchs, known to Jews by its Biblical name Cave of Machpelah (Biblical Hebrew: מְעָרַת הַמַּכְפֵּלָה, romanized: , lit. 'Cave of the Double') and to Muslims as the Sanctuary of Abraham (Arabic: الحرم الإبراهيمي, romanized: ), is a series of caves situated 30 kilometres (19 mi) south of Jerusalem in the heart of the Old City of Hebron in the West Bank. According to the Abrahamic religions, the cave and adjoining field were purchased by Abraham as a burial plot, although most historians believe the Abraham-Isaac-Jacob narrative to be primarily mythological. The site is considered a holy place in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Over the cave stands a large rectangular enclosure dating from the Herodian era. During Byzantine rule of the region, a Christian basilica was built on the site; the structure was converted into the Ibrahimi Mosque following the Muslim conquest of the Levant. By the 12th century, the mosque and its surrounding regions had fallen under Crusader-state control, but were retaken in 1188 by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin, who again converted the structure into a mosque. In 1119 CE, a monk found bones inside the cave, believing them to be the bones of the patriarchs. During the Six-Day War of 1967, the entire Jordanian-occupied West Bank was seized and occupied by the State of Israel, after which the mosque was divided, with half of it repurposed as a synagogue. In 1968, special Jewish services were authorized outside the usual permitted hours on the Jewish New Year and Day of Atonement, leading to a hand-grenade attack on 9 October which injured 47 Israelis; and a second bombing on 4 November, which wounded 6 people. In 1972, the Israeli government increased the Jewish prayer area. New changes to the "status quo" were made by Israeli authorities in 1975, which again led to protests by Muslims. In 1976, a scuffle took place between Jewish and Muslim worshippers, during which a Quran was torn. Muslim and Arab figures went to Hebron the next day to protest what was called a "profanation of the Quran". The Tomb was closed and a curfew was imposed on the whole city. A few days later, about two hundred Arab youths entered the Tomb and destroyed Torah scrolls and prayer books. In May 1980, an attack on Jewish worshippers returning from prayers at the tomb left 6 dead and 17 wounded. In 1994, the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre occurred at the Ibrahimi Mosque, in which an armed Israeli settler entered the complex during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan and opened fire on Palestinian Muslims who had gathered to pray at the site, killing 29 people, including children, and wounding over 125.