Israeli settlers torched a mosque in the West Bank on Tuesday, June 7, in a revenge attack to the demolition of a settlement in the occupied territory.
It “indicates the magnitude of the aggression settlers unleash on [Muslim] holy places,” said Mahmoud Al-Habbash, the Palestinian Authority’s Minister of Religious Affairs, Ma’an News Agency reported.
He accused the vandals of “planning to destroy our holy sites and creating new facts on the ground to Judaize the land.”
The mosque in Al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah was ablaze early morning. Flames of smoke were seen rising into the sky.
Attackers sprayed anti-Arab graffiti on the mosque’s walls, including “Aley Ayin” which is the name of a nearby settlement outpost demolished by Israeli police last week.
“We found Hebrew writings on the outside walls that read: ‘This is the beginning of revenge,’” Faraj Nasan, the head of the village local council, told the Palestinian News and Information Agency.
Al-Mughayyir’s village council said the building was nearly destroyed, and its contents incinerated.
“The attack on this mosque is part of a systematic policy aiming to flame the conflict and show disrespect to the religious and human values of others,” Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Al-Quds, said.
Al-Habbash assured that refurbishment of the mosque would start immediately.
There are more than 164 Jewish settlements in the West Bank, eating up more than 40 percent of the occupied territory.
The international community considers all settlements on the occupied land illegal.
Condemnation
The arson attack drew immediate condemnations, amid warnings of further escalation by Jewish settlers.
“This despicable act goes against human morality and our Jewish belief that we must not harm followers of different religion,” the Rabbis for Human Rights organization said in a statement cited by Haaretz.
Angered by the attack, the Peace Now movement has called for decisive actions against violent settlers.
“The Shin Bet security service and the police must uproot the ‘hill youth’ phenomenon,” it said.
The National Christian Coalition in the Holy land also condemned the arson, blaming Israel’s occupation authorities for the attack.
The “occupation commits limitless crimes using different means including extremist settlers who are protected by Israeli forces,” Dimitri Diliani, the coalition president said.
“They do not show any respect to morals, religions, or laws when it comes to attacks against the Palestinian people.”
The attack is the latest in assaults by Jewish settlers on Muslim worship places.
Last year, a group of settlers entered the village of Bayt Fajar before dawn and burned down the local mosque.
In 2009, settlers torched and graffitied the Al-Kabir Mosque in the northern West Bank village of Yasuf, writing “We will have our revenge” and “We will burn you all,” on the carpets of the building.
Source: OnIslam
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