Palestinian Authority demands cessation of Israeli settler attacks on places of worship

The Palestinian Authority has strongly condemned a recent attack by a group of extremist Israeli settlers on a mosque in the Jerusalem al-Quds, calling on the international community to take effective measures aimed at stopping such desecration of places of worship in the occupied Palestinian territories.

News ID: 448626

Date: 26 January 2020 - 20:04

RNA - Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates said in a statement that the arson attack against the mosque in Beit Safafa town, located 4.5 kilometers (2.7 miles) southwest of Jerusalem al-Quds, besides assaults on other Christian and Muslim places of worship reflects the nature of the Zionist regime’s politics and attitudes, and its intentions to accommodate extremist Jews and fanatic settlers in the occupied West Bank.

The statement added that extremist Jews follow a dark ideology based on racism, hatred, violence and religious intolerance towards others, and the school of thought seeks to create an atmosphere that deters others and denies their presence in the occupied Palestine.

The Palestinian foreign ministry then condemned in the strongest terms Israeli settler price tag attacks on places of worship and worshipers, describing the assaults as a dangerous precedence to a religious war in the region with the aim of promoting Talmudic narratives.

It called on the international community and relevant international bodies to stand against such grave violations of international law, human rights principles and civil liberties – the foremost of which is the freedom of worship.

The ministry urged the international community to ensure protection for sacred places across the Palestinian land, and force Israel as an occupying regime to abide by its responsibilities as regards people under occupation.

Early on Friday, a group of extremist Israeli settlers torched al-Badriya Mosque southwest of Jerusalem al-Quds, and sprayed racist anti-Arab graffiti on its walls.

Back in July 2015, a large fire broke out after settlers threw firebombs and Molotov cocktails into two Palestinian houses in the West Bank town of Duma, setting them ablaze while their inhabitants were asleep.

The arson attack killed 18-month-old baby Ali Dawabsheh, and critically wounded his father and mother, Sa’ad and Riham, who later succumbed to their injuries. Ali’s four-year-old brother, Ahmad, who was also wounded in the assault, remained the sole survivor of the ill-fated family.

More than 600,000 Israelis live in over 230 settlements built since the 1967 Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

All Israeli settlements are illegal under international law.

According to human rights groups, incidents of sabotage and violence by extremist Jewish settlers against Palestinians and their property are a daily occurrence throughout the West Bank.

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