Illegal Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque South Of Nablus

Tuesday May 04, 2010 11:39 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

A group of illegal Israeli fundamentalist settlers torched the main mosque of the Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya village, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus.

Jamal Daraghma, head of the Al-Lubban Village Council, stated that the settlers attacked the mosque approximately at 3 A.M, rounded up several copies of the Holy Koran in one place and set them ablaze.

Daraghma added that the mosque is located in the center of the village which is surrounded by three settlements built on %30 of lands stolen from the residents. The village, 22 kilometers south of Nablus, is inhibited by 3000 residents.

He stated that the village is subject to frequent attacks carried out by the settlers who previously set ablaze farmlands and uprooted trees.

Local sources reported that the residents woke up on sounds of destruction and sounds of vehicles before they notices the torched mosque.

Eyewitnesses confirmed seeing several settler vehicles driving in the village and speeding out of it after the mosque was set ablaze.

The mosque was totally torched, some fifty copies of the Holy Koran were burnt and its walls and ceilings became cracked with significant parts of its ceramics falling down.

Its 450 square meters of carpet, eight air conditioners and seven fans were burnt too and its electric wiring was fully sabotaged.

This is the third mosque to be torched by the settlers this year as the settlers torched a mosque in Yasuf village near Salfit and another mosque in Huwwara town, near Nablus.

Mosque fire was arson, villagers say

Published today (updated) 04/05/2010 13:53

Nablus – Ma'an –

Palestinians said a group of illegal Israeli settlers entered the mosque of the Nablus-area village of Al-Lubban Al-Sharqiya, gathered flammables, and set them alight in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Head of the local council of Al-Lubban Jamal Daraghma said residents living adjacent to the mosque heard cars approaching the building at 3am. Residents said the group tore curtains from the walls and threw several copies of the Qur'an into a pile on the mosque floor and set i aflame.

The village is surrounded by three illegal Israeli settlements; Eli, Shilo, and Ma’ale Levona, built on Palestinian lands; and, according to Daraghma, the abutting illegal communities consumed more than 30 percent of the village lands, confiscated to build the settlements.

As the blaze was set, locals called fire and rescue teams, which arrived on the scene to douse the flames. Officials said the mosque was badly damaged, and police said an investigation into the arson was initiated.

After complaining to Israeli authorities, Israel's Civil Administration told Palestinians that the fire was likely the result of an electrical malfunction, Israeli media reported.

The Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth quoted the mosque's imam as saying that residents were "waiting for the investigation of the Palestinian police here, and also of the PA's Waqf and Ministry of Religion," but noted the history of settler antagonism in the village.