WEST BANK: Israeli troops, Palestinians clash at site of vandalized West Bank mosque hours

Record ID: 562493

  • Title: WEST BANK: Israeli troops, Palestinians clash at site of vandalized West Bank mosque hours
  • Date: 15th December 2009
  • Summary: YASUF VILLAGE, WEST BANK (DECEMBER 14, 2009) (REUTERS) ISRAELI SOLDIERS STANDING NEAR MILITARY JEEP CLOSE TO MOSQUE RECENTLY VANDALIZED BY JEWISH SETTLERS VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN YOUTH HURLING STONES TOWARDS ISRAELI JEEPS WHO ARE DRIVING INSIDE THE VILLAGE SOLDIERS STANDING NEAR JEEP MORE OF STONES BEING HURLED ISRAELI SOLDIERS STANDING NEXT TO JEEP PALESTINIAN YOUTH HURLING STONES TOWARDS JEEP IN MOTION (AUDIO: SHOOTING) VILLAGE RESIDENTS STANDING IN FRONT OF VANDALIZED MOSQUE ARAB ISRAELI MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT TALAB EL-SANA HELPING RESIDENTS WASH THE FLOOR OF VANDALIZED MOSQUE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ARAB ISRAELI MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT TALAB EL SANA SAYING: "This crime is not an individual act but an outcome of the rooted Zionist intellect. These are not new acts by the Zionist movement." MORE OF RESIDENTS WASHING MOSQUE FLOOR SOLDIER STANDING NEXT TO MOSQUE MINARET VILLAGE RESIDENTS HOLDING SIGNS READING ' NO TO SETTLERS' ISRAELI CHIEF RABBI YONA METZGER, ACCOMPANIED BY PALESTINIAN SECURITY PERSONNEL, STEPPING OUT OF CAR AHEAD OF VISIT TO MOSQUE SOLDIERS STANDING AT MOSQUE'S ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) ISRAEL'S CHIEF RABBI YONA METZGER SAYING: "As you know in the history 71 years ago, the Nazis burned hundreds of synagogues and it was the opening of the Holocaust. And we are until today with the same feeling about the trauma that the Jewish nation has. Therefore I came to say to our neighbours, the Muslims, that we are against burning any holy place that people are praying inside. If it would be a mosque, or if it will be a church or a synagogue. The same. For us the meaning of these holy places that they are like the embassy of God." METZGER WALKING TOWARDS MOSQUE METZGER STANDING IN ENTRANCE TO MOSQUE CHIEF RABBI WALKING OUT OF MOSQUE METZGER SHAKING HANDS OF LOCAL OFFICIALS MORE ISRAELI SOLDIERS AT VILLAGE
  • Embargoed: 30th December 2009 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVA5UQG8FKC3WC29EES9A1KIGEUV
  • Story Text: Stone throwing clashes erupted on Monday (December 14) between Palestinians and Israeli troops at the site of a recently vandalized West Bank mosque.
    Palestinian youth hurled stones at Israeli forces who arrived at the site of the mosque in the village of Yasuf village, allegedly vandalized by Jewish settlers.
    Arab-Israeli lawmaker Talab el-Sana, who came to the mosque to offer his help and support, assisted local residents in cleaning the burned structure.
    "This crime is not an individual act...these are not new acts by the Zionist movement," el-Sana told Reuters Television.
    Hours later, Israel's Chief Rabbi, Yona Metzger, arrived at the mosque accompanied by Palestinian security personnel where he told the crowd of the trauma of synagogues being burnt during the Holocaust.
    "As you know in the history 71 years ago, the Nazis burned hundreds of synagogues and it was the opening of the Holocaust. And we are until today with the same feeling about the trauma that the Jewish nation has. Therefore I came to say to our neighbours, the Muslims, that we are against burning any holy place that people are praying inside. If it would be a mosque, or if it will be a church or a synagogue. The same. For us the meaning of these holy places that they are like the embassy of God," said Metzger.
    Palestinians reported a gang of Jewish settlers forced their way into the local mosque late on Thursday (December 10), doused carpets and copies of the koran with petrol, and set them ablaze.
    Graffiti scrawled in Hebrew at the threshold said it was "the price-tag" -- an expression used by hardline settlers for systematic acts of vengeance against Palestinians.
    The Israeli army, Israeli President Shimon Peres and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu all condemned the vandalism.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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