Mosque vandalized as settlers attack Palestinian village

[Violet_Crumble]

More than 300 olive trees were uprooted and two cars set alight in the West Bank village of Hawara in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Stars of David and the word 'Mohammed,' as well as racist slogans, were also sprayed in Hebrew across the town, including on the walls of a mosque.

A military official told Army Radio that the army suspected settler violence against Palestinians, part of some settlers' policy of imposing a 'price tag' on a government order to freeze Israeli construction in the West Bank.

As part of the strategy, settlers from nearby Yitzhar have launched numerous attacks on Palestinians, including an arson attack on a mosque in December 2009.

Responding to news of the incident, Itamar Ben-Gvir, a spokesman for the right-wing Jewish National Front party, said:

"We are talking about a hostile village that has been the source of a large number of violent attacks against the residents of Yitzhar."

He added: "The time has come for the Arabs to understand that Jews are not suckers and that Jewish blood will not be shed without consequence."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1163045.html

[safeinOhio]

1. Almost never see a story

about anything good the Settlers have ever done for their neighbors. From what I understand, most in Israel don't want to close the settlements because they wouldn't want any Settlers to move next door to them.

[denverbill]

2. Belated revenge for Kristalnacht?

I sometimes wish we could ship all right-wingers to their own alternative universe where they kill and oppress each other to their hearts content, in homage to their gods. Unfortunately, they'd never be satisfied knowing that some people, some where, weren't cow-towing to their belief system.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

3. 300 olive trees uprooted? Those settlers should be deported.

Spray paint on buildings all you want; uproot olive trees and you should be banished.

Will the settlement be put under curfew?

HA!

[oberliner]

4. IDF condemns acts of vandalism in Huwwara

The Bilal Ibn Rabah mosque in the village of Huwwara, south of Nablus, was vandalized by anonymous suspects last night. The Star of David symbol and the caption "Mohammad" in Hebrew were among the graffiti painted on the wall of the mosque. In addition, two vehicles were set on fire in the village.

The Commander of the IDF Judea and Samaria division, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon ordered an immediate investigation into the incident, condemned the acts and said that those responsible should be brought to justice.

The IDF conveyed a message to the Palestinians through the Civil Administration to reassure them that the IDF takes the matter of harming or vandalizing of holy sites very seriously. It should be noted that the Civil Administration erased the graffiti this morning.

http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2010/IDF_condemns_vandalism_Huwwara_14-Apr-2010.htm

[ProgressiveMuslim]

5. Why isn't the settlement under curfew? Only Arabs get locked indoors, I guess.

[azurnoir]

6. The commander of the

Judea and Samaria division is concerned well I'm impressed:sarcasm:

[ProgressiveMuslim]

16. Israel spoke the magic words after the criminal activity. That's all that matters.

As usual, a few words is enough to assauge the concerns of liberal Zionists.

[azurnoir]

7. any word of deporting them back to Israel

they are Israeli's after all the term "settler" can obfuscate that fact or make them appear as something separate

[ProgressiveMuslim]

8. Better yet, back to Brooklyn.

[azurnoir]

9. Nooooooooo we has enough teabaggers n/t

[ProgressiveMuslim]

10. Any progress on bringing the criminal settlers to justice?

[ProgressiveMuslim]

11. Any word on arrests? I see that the IDF raided and laid Palestinian homes under siege for an anti-

wall protest:

Israeli forces surround, raid Al-Walaja homes
Published today (updated) 16/04/2010 16:09
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Bethlehem - Ma'an - Following an anti-wall protest in Al-Walaja on Friday, Israeli border police entered the village and surrounded the home of a detained Palestinian, trapping at least 40 people in the home for two hours.

The home of 40 year old Hatem Al-Araj was host to women and children when it was besieged. Witnesses said troops withdrew after two hours without incident, and said it was unclear what they wanted with those in the building.

Village council representatives said the Al-Araj home was a gathering place for locals and internationals who had earlier participated in an anti-wall rally, where they had protested the latest site of wall construction, which cuts off large swaths of land from the Al-Walaja and Beit Jala areas, west of Bethlehem. Lands from the Cremisan Monastery will also be confiscated.

One representative explained that solidarity groups traveled to the homes of prisoners being held by Israel, to offer their support in honor of Prisoners Day, which was marked on Thursday.



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Guess the IDF is too busy harrassing Palestinians.

[ProgressiveMuslim]

12. I see the IDF was busy arresting people in Wallaja today. Any scumbag settlers arrested?

[Violet_Crumble]

13. Got to get the priorities right. There's Palestinian homes in the West Bank that need demolishing...

Israelis demolish West Bank homes

JERUSALEM — Israeli bulldozers, flanked by troops, demolished properties in two West Bank villages on Wednesday, leaving nine Palestinians homeless, Palestinian rights organizations said.

The Israeli military confirmed demolition of a home in the village of Khader, near Bethlehem, and what it said was an unfinished and uninhabited building in the northern village of Haris.

A military spokesman said both structures had been put up without the necessary construction permits.

The West Bank-based Popular Struggle Coordination Committee said the Khader building had been home to nine members of the Musa family, including a baby.

Under a 1993 agreement with the Palestinians, Israel has complete control over 60 percent of the West Bank, where it frequently demolishes unauthorised buildings.

Palestinian and Israeli rights groups say that permits to build there are rarely granted, leading to the demolition of thousands of structures over the past decade.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gcRv6err9efJLosDOFiyl09YmMzw

[ProgressiveMuslim]

14. No settlers arrested as of 4/18, but Israeli forces take Huwarra man in overnight raid

Published today (updated) 18/04/2010 15:27
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Nablus – Ma'an – Israeli forces detained a young man from the West Bank village of Huwwara, south of Nablus, after ransacking his home, local officials said.

Huwwara Mayor Samir Mur’ib said 21-year-old Shadi Jihad was taken from his home following a raid where soldiers ransacked the place, and noted that the detention followed the seizure of one of Jihad's relatives, Jihad Nasser Jihad.

According to a report from the PLO's negotiations affairs department, Israeli forces raided the West Bank 15 times over the last two days, and detained 15 civilians including two Palestinian police officers.

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Clealy, the IDF is very busy in the area...!

[ProgressiveMuslim]

15. Can the Zionists here please just be honest enough to admit that there will be no justice

for the Palestinians whose house of worship was desecrated, and much worse, who olive groves were destroyed?

[Violet_Crumble]

18. I think this might be some sort of 'response'...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=124x310655

I certainly hope that poster isn't trying to make some sort of statement by posting that!

[ProgressiveMuslim]

19. I"m quite sure that was the point.

[Scurrilous]

17. IDF: Bldg freeze sparks settler crimes

Jewish terrorists burn Palestinian vehicles,spray-paint mosque.

<snip>

"Hundreds of West Bank settlers would likely act violently against Palestinians in response to Israeli government sanctions such as an extension of the freeze on settlement construction, according to the latest assessments in the IDF Central Command.

On Friday morning, Palestinians from a village near Kedumim discovered two vehicles that had been set on fire the night before; one of them was spray-painted with the words “Price Tag,” a term indicating that the rampage was the work of settlers angry over the government’s curbs on settlement construction.

In an effort to prevent retaliation, the Israel Police and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) opened an investigation into the incident and officials from the Civil Administration of Judea and Samaria spoke with local Palestinian leaders.

There was a similar incident on Wednesday, when masked men entered the Palestinian town of Hawara, south of Nablus, and spray-painted a Star of David and the word Muhammad – in Hebrew – on the wall of a mosque.

“There are Jewish terrorists on the margins who are radicals and are the minority,” a top IDF officer told The Jerusalem Post over the weekend. “Someone who sets a mosque on fire or attacks a Palestinian is a terrorist.”

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