Ramallah: Israeli colonists burned a mosque in the village of Huwarah yesterday, near the city of Nablus.
They also sealed the Huwarah checkpoint and held a strike demanding full control over Tomb of Joseph.
Gassan Doghlous, the official of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in charge of the colonial activities in the northern parts of the West Bank told Gulf News that residents of the eastern part of Huwarah village took over 80 square metres of a school and turned it into a mosque to serve thousands of the residents who preferred to spare themselves the risks of walking to reach the village's other mosque especially for the night and dawn prayers.
He said following aggressive tactics of the Israeli colonists, Palestinians in Huwarah village turned part of the school into a mosque. But the colonists were aware of the move and they raided the village early in the morning, burned the mosque and destroyed the other part of the school.
Vandalism
Residents who witnessed the attack by the colonists rushed to put out the fire set by the colonists who fled the scene.
Doghlous stressed that the Israeli colonists vandalised the mosque which the residents created for their prayers, knowing fully well that burning a mosque is an outrageous act and that will outrage the villagers.
He said Huwarah residents told the PNA that they will renovate their mosque but feared that the Israeli colonists would attack it again.
He said that once the colonists were done with the mosque, they moved to Huwarah Checkpoint which they sealed and went on a strike, holding flags and chanting songs.
On the Huwarah Checkpoint which connects the city of Nablus with its villages and other parts of the West Bank, Israeli army troops arrived at the scene but never gave the colonists orders to clear the scene but have been watching them, he said.
Limited access
Doghlous said the safety on the roads of the northern parts of the West Bank, especially near the city of Nablus is obviously missing, and that movement of the Palestinian vehicles on those roads has been dramatically down, and limited to emergency cases.
He said Israeli colonists, especially youth are spreading terror in these areas, making it dangerous for those who use the roads.
He said Israeli colonists have been demanding full control and free access to Tomb of Joseph in the city of Nablus.
A total of 450 visited the tomb yesterday with prior approval and coordination with the PNA.
Doghlous said that it does not suit the colonists to seek approval from the PNA and they want free access to the tomb.
The Palestinian Grant Mufti Shaikh Mohammad Ahmad Hussain strongly condemned the burning of the mosque in the village of Huwarah, stressing that this attack was yet another violation against the Palestinian sacred places.
He stressed that the colonists have a shameful history in attacking the Palestinians' sacred places.
