Israeli Settlers Desecrate Mosque in WB, Write Offending Slogans Against Prophet Mohammed
QALQILYA, Palestine, February 13, 2006 (IPC + Agencies) - -
A mob of Israeli settlers desecrated a mosque in a village in Qalqilya province, by spraying slogans insulting Prophet Mohammed on the village's mosque, which sent a wave of anger and contempt among the residents of the village.
Local sources at Nabi Elisa Village, north of Qalqilya, said that residents woke up on Sunday morning to find a sentence sprayed in Hebrew on the local mosque's wall. The sentence was comparing Prophet Mohammed with a pig, which angered the population of the village and its surroundings.
"When I was heading to the local mosque to open it for the dawn prayers at 4 in the morning, I noticed a settlers' car parked next to it, which drove away when seeing me. I didn't know exactly what they were doing because it was still dark," a local said.
He added that the residents didn't recognize what had happened except in the morning, when they noticed Hebrew words sprayed on the wall of the mosque in red, prompting them to call officials from the Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs and members of the press to document the incident before Israeli authorities remove it.
Later that day, a force from the Israeli army and several officers of the so-called "Civilian Liaison" arrived at the scene and removed the offending slogans with a chemical material and a metal brush, and admitted that the settlers were behind spraying it.
Following that, dozens of villagers from the villages of Nabi Elias and Azzoun took to the streets in demonstrations to denounce the incident, and hurled stones at the settlers' cars passing near the villages.
Furthermore, Israeli forces rushed to Nabi Elias Village to confront hundreds of citizens who were demonstrating against the settlers' actions, and opened fire at them, injuring three demonstrators.
In the meantime, the Minister of Waqf and Religious Affairs, Sheikh Yousef Salama, condemned the settlers' act, describing it as a crime and further contributes to the state of anger among Palestinians and Muslims in general.
Salama also mentioned that this crime coincides with the vicious campaign against Prophet Mohammed by several European newspapers.
"This is an extension of the acts against Islam committed by Israel in the land of Palestine, the cradle of the three religions. This act complements that of tearing up the Quran in Majeddo Prison, attacking Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the holy Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron," the Minister said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Judge, Sheikh Tayseer Al Tamimi, also denounced this action and held the Israeli government fully responsible for the acts of settler mobs, demanding it to apologize of the actions of those hate-filled settlers.
http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2006%20News%20Archives/February/13%20nb/Israeli%20Settlers%20Desecrate%20Mosque%20in%20WB,%20Write%20Offending%20Slogans%20Against%20Prophet%20Mohammed.htm
