[ 24/10/2010 - 12:23 PM ] The protest was attended by Arab MK Mohammed Barakat, Muslim and Christian clerics, political party delegates, and public masses.
Protesters said they will rebuild the mosque in response to the settler attack, stressing that “if something like this would have happened to a Jewish synagogue in the last spot in the world, Israel would ‘wake the world’, but when the sanctity of mosques and churches is violated, officials stand by idly.”
Settlers reportedly stole three years back a church bell in the village prompting ’48 Palestinians to restore the village and re-congregate for prayers there on Sundays.
Residents said the stone theft has inspired them to rebuild the mosque and reopen it for prayer for the first time since the Palestinian Nakba (catastrophe) in 1948.
A statement issued by the village’s heritage society said the southern wall of the mosque was sabotaged Friday by settlers who also stole the stones of the wall placing the entire structure at risk of collapse.
“This heinous act and senseless attack on our holy places is a warning of danger in the quest to erase evidence of our existence and the existence of our holy places in this country,” the statement read.
“Activists in the Ma’lul heritage society immediately called press and went to police demanding they assume their responsibility in finding the perpetrators and punishing them,” the statement continued.
The Ma’lul heritage committee decided to call for a gathering in front of the mosque at 10:00am Saturday to expose the “ugliness” of the crime and show disapproval.
The Palestinian population of the village of Ma’lul was displaced in 1948.
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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