04/10/2010 A group of radical Israeli settlers attacked a mosque near the West Bank city of Bethelem, ransacking the holy site and burning copies of the holy Qur'an, news reports said on Monday.
Palestinian residents reportedly arrived at the scene and clashed with the assailants.
The witnesses blamed the attack on a group of Israeli settlers from the nearby Kfar Etsyon settlement.
The settlers also desecrated the holy site by spraying graffiti and hate messages on the walls inside the mosque in Hebrew, according to the Palestinian agency.
The graffiti featured slogans against Arabs, Muslims and Prophet Mohamad (pbuh). Slogans such as "revenge" and "price tag" were also sprayed on the mosque walls alongside an Israeli flag.
Meanwhile, the Israeli enemy reportedly “condemned” the arson attack carried out against a West Bank mosque and vowed to “find those responsible as quickly as possible.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Liebowitz, an Israeli military spokeswoman, was quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz as describing the blaze as "a very serious incident which we view with utmost gravity".
The chairman of the Gush Etzion settlement, Shaul Goldstein, condemned the attack but warned against pinning the blame immediately on settlers, despite the Hebrew graffiti sprayed on the walls. "Experience has taught us that it not always Jews who have committed such crimes, but still, we condemn the act," he claimed.
Village Committee Head Ali Sawabta told Israeli daily Ynet Ynet that from testimonies taken so far, six settlers raided the mosque at around 2:40 am. “They set fire to the mosque, and it took out the building's electrical grid. Fifteen Quran book have been burnt and the building is drenched in smoke. It is effectively out of commission. This is the first time settlers have vandalized the village's mosque.”
Earlier, the Palestinian Authority strongly condemned the attack, describing it as "a serious escalation in settler violence," against the Palestinians, according to government spokesman Ghassan Khatib.
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Palestinian Ma'an news agency quoted locals as saying that a group of Israeli extremists stormed a mosque in the town of Beit Fajjar overnight, burned copies of the Muslim holy book and set fire to carpets in the building.
Palestinian residents reportedly arrived at the scene and clashed with the assailants.
The witnesses blamed the attack on a group of Israeli settlers from the nearby Kfar Etsyon settlement.The settlers also desecrated the holy site by spraying graffiti and hate messages on the walls inside the mosque in Hebrew, according to the Palestinian agency.
The graffiti featured slogans against Arabs, Muslims and Prophet Mohamad (pbuh). Slogans such as "revenge" and "price tag" were also sprayed on the mosque walls alongside an Israeli flag.
Meanwhile, the Israeli enemy reportedly “condemned” the arson attack carried out against a West Bank mosque and vowed to “find those responsible as quickly as possible.”
Lieutenant-Colonel Avital Liebowitz, an Israeli military spokeswoman, was quoted by Israeli daily Haaretz as describing the blaze as "a very serious incident which we view with utmost gravity".
The chairman of the Gush Etzion settlement, Shaul Goldstein, condemned the attack but warned against pinning the blame immediately on settlers, despite the Hebrew graffiti sprayed on the walls. "Experience has taught us that it not always Jews who have committed such crimes, but still, we condemn the act," he claimed.
Village Committee Head Ali Sawabta told Israeli daily Ynet Ynet that from testimonies taken so far, six settlers raided the mosque at around 2:40 am. “They set fire to the mosque, and it took out the building's electrical grid. Fifteen Quran book have been burnt and the building is drenched in smoke. It is effectively out of commission. This is the first time settlers have vandalized the village's mosque.”
Earlier, the Palestinian Authority strongly condemned the attack, describing it as "a serious escalation in settler violence," against the Palestinians, according to government spokesman Ghassan Khatib.
Hamas urges W. Bankers to protect mosques against settlers' attacks
IOA banned Azan at Ibrahimi mosque 79 times in September
River to Sea
Uprooted Palestinian
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