Settlers set fire to West Bank mosque in protest against Israel

[News_Editor]

Settlers set fire to West Bank mosque in protest against Israel

2010-10-04 23:16:43 GMT+7 (ICT)

BETHLEHEM (BNO NEWS) – A Palestinian mosque on Sunday night was burned down by West Bank settlers in protest against Israel's policies, the Haaretz newspaper reported on Monday.

The mosque was located in the village of Bayt Fjar near Bethlehem. Haaretz reported that a group of settlers entered the community and burned down the mosque before residents were able to intervene. The attackers and local residents then engaged in a fight as the flames burned down the mosque.

Local authorities arrived at the scene and broke up the fight, but those responsible for the fire were able to escape. The Palestinian Authority, along with Israeli officials, said that the arson represented a serious escalation in settler violence.

Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strongly condemned the attack and said that they will contribute to the efforts to find those responsibly as quickly as possible. Local police forces said that the attack was an apparent protest against Israel's West Bank policies.

In wake of the attack, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak instructed the security forces to take all measures in order to apprehend - as quickly as possible - those responsible for setting the fire. The Defense Minister said that, "Whoever did this is a terrorist in every sense of the word, and intended to hurt the chances for peace and dialogue with the Palestinians. This was a shameful act that besmirched the State of Israel and its values."

The mosque's carpets and about a dozen copies of the Koran were burned and graffiti was sprayed on the mosque walls. However, authorities are not blaming Jewish individuals as the responsible parties of the arson.

"Experience has taught us that it not always Jews who have committed such crimes, but still, we condemn the act," said Shaul Goldstein, chairman of the Gush Etzion settlement.

The attack is believed to be the latest in the so-called "price tag" operations, which are intended to put pressure against Israel for making concessions regarding settlement building in the West Bank despite local and international protests.

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