Mosque burning draws int’l anger as unrest rocks ‘48-occupied territories

October 4, 2011 by occupiedpalestine 0 Comments

Related: Radical Jewish terrorists torch Mosque in Tuba – in pictures

[ 04/10/2011 – 06:39 PM ]

JEDDAH, CAIRO, RAMALLAH, (PIC)– The arson of a mosque in the Upper Galilee Valley has drawn worldwide anger as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation has called on Israel to shoulder responsibilities as an occupying force and strikes and clashes rocked the Palestinian villages inside the 1948-occupied Palestinian territories.

Jewish settlers set fire to Al-Nour mosque in Tuba-Zangareyya village overnight Sunday burning holy books and causing serious damage. Graffiti in Hebrew was found on the walls.

Palestinian resistance group Hamas has condemned the arson, calling the move “cowardly and racist”, and said that the “continued settler attacks and the Zionist occupation’s protection of these extremists is a contravention of divine laws and international norms”.

Secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu called the mosque burning a “terrorist act against the freedom of worship and the sanctity of holy sites”.

He said the act came within the context of an “open war launched by Jewish settlers against the Palestinian people and their holy sites”.

Ihsanoglu added that Israel (as an occupying force) must take the “necessary measures to protect holy sites and stop the recurrence of such serious violations”.

Also to condemn the act was the Arab League. In a statement on Tuesday, the regional organization assigned blame to a rise in “Israeli racism backed by laws issued by the Israeli Knesset, with as much as 16 laws targeting Palestinians”.

The laws have led to the “confiscation of many villages and homes and prevented (Palestinians) from returning and have granted their lands and homes to Jews in a racial manner,” the statement goes on to say.

The statement also calls on the United Nations and the Quartet and all bodies working in human rights and religious freedoms to take a firm stance against the repeated attacks.

In the occupied territories, clashes have reappeared in Tuba-Zanghareya as Israeli occupation forces fired teargas at local youths and closed off the town’s entrances.

This comes after a calm that followed similar clashes that erupted in the village on the day of the mosque burning.

Also on Tuesday, a strike prevailed in rural villages in the 1948-occupied Palestinian territories as locals have closed down all facilities and institutions in a day of rage following the incident.

Hundreds of Palestinians from across the 1948-occupied territories have shown up at the village to condemn the act.

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