“The Israeli occupation authorities closed the Ibrahimi Mosque on Monday and Tuesday due to Sukkot,” Ghassan Al-Rajabi, the Director of the Ibrahimi Mosque, told Anadolu.

Attending the mosque's opening ceremony, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described it as "one of the most important symbols of Istanbul."

Witnesses said police raided the mosque compound as thousands of people, many of them elderly, women and children, were attending the early morning prayers, as has been the case every day since the start of the holy fast month of Ramadan two weeks ago, causing panic and forcing people to rush seeking safety from the police rubber bullets, stun grenades ...