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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Settlers blamed for mosque blaze |
| 2010-10-05 |
| from AlJazeera Palestinians say Israeli settlers in the West Bank burnt prayer rugs and Quran copies in early morning attack. Israeli settlers are reported to have set fire to a mosque in a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank, damaging prayer rugs and a large number of copies of the Quran, as well as spraying anti-Arab graffiti on the walls. One wonders if the deed was done by the Pals themselves. Israeli's are unlikely to burn korans and prayer rugs, but not the mosque itself. Autographing the work doesn't seem to make sense either. According to witnesses, five Jewish settlers broke into a mosque in Beit Fajjar in the early hours of Monday and set it alight before the morning prayers, Ahmad Thawabteh, the town's mayor, told Al Jazeera. 3 am is the usual calling time for muslim shenanigans and done in time for morning prayers. Five Juices managed to burn only korans and prayer mats? The Israeli military told Al Jazeera that primary investigations showed Hebrew graffiti and burnt carpets at the mosque, located south of Bethlehem. if juices had done the deed, the mosque would be smoldering heap, not just cosmetic damage. Avital Leibovitch, a spokeswoman for Israel's military, said Israeli authorities will bring the guilty parties to justice. "The Israeli police ... have opened a very widespread investigation; the other security forces in Israel will be a part of [it], as well as Palestinian information that has some contribution to this investigation," she told Al Jazeera. the paleostinian "contribution" will likely prove the in-house arson. "We see this incident in a very severe manner. We will do the utmost to find these lawbreakers and bring them to court." Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from the mosque, said emotions are quite high in the town. "It was a little before three in the morning when residents saw smoke coming out of the mosque, that they rushed in to put out the fire," she said. "We heard residents [break] into chants about revenge. Much of the talk here is [calling this a] religious type of attack rather than a politically motivated one." And such incitement was the goal of the set-up. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Jerusalem, said: "Certainly this is something that is ratcheting up tensions at a time when the Israeli cabinet are meeting to decide on extending the settlement freeze. "A mosque was burned in the West Bank earlier this year by settlers who say it was on their land - land that they claim and occupy. "There is certainly a pattern here. There will be a settler demonstration north of the West Bank today which is also linked to a mosque that the settlers want destroyed." Vandals occasionally spray-paint the words "price tag" on buildings and cars, suggesting that the attacks are the "price" for any attempt by the Israeli government to curb the growth of illegal settlements. Human-rights groups say the Israeli government does not take the attacks seriously enough. A report by Amnesty International, the London-based rights group, found that "impunity remains the norm" for settlers accused of vandalism and physical attacks on Palestinians. |
| Posted by:Swanimote |
| #3 "That was always one of Frank's tricks -- faking evidence." Harmonica |
| Posted by: Gabby 2010-10-05 11:48 |
#2 Human-rights groups say the Israeli government does not take the attacks seriously enough. Ah -- "human-rights groups" -- the moral midgets of the universe. Whining that vandalism is not taken seriously enough while they turn a blind eye towards out-and-out murder. |
| Posted by: Rob Crawford 2010-10-05 09:39 |
| #1 Possibly true - Jews are not immune to stupidity. But more possibly a cover story for a 'work accident' by some Muslim troublemakers using the mosque for its natural purpose - a weapons workshop. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-10-05 07:39 |