Ramallah: A mosque in the village of the Rahat at Al Naqab Peninsula was demolished by Israeli forces on Sunday, because they claim it was built unofficially.
Local residents, with the help of neighbouring villagers and a number of Islamic movements, have however already begun to rebuild it and it’s expected to be complete within 24 hours.
However, this has lead to serious clashes between the residents of the village and the Israeli military forces.
Al Sahwa Mosque was built only eight months ago on 400 square metres of land, next to the village’s Football Stadium.
The area was known for drug trading, but the problem had long been ignored by the Israeli authorities. The residents of the community took it upon themselves to build the mosque in effort to stop the trade.
They applied for official approval but were refused it.
However, when bulldozers arrived at the scene, the residents of Rahat gathered in protest, but the authorities would not listen.
Clashes between thousands of residents erupted. Village residents hurled stones at the authorities which in response, used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds and within minutes had used military bulldozers to reduce the building to rubble.
Clashes broke out as the rebuilding began almost immediately afterwards and many villagers were arrested.
It has been known for some months that the mosque would be destroyed. The southern region committee for planning and construction issued a demolition order for the mosque last April and the local court rejected an appeal by the village’s residents last July.
Fayez Abu Suhaiban, the Rahat Municipality Chief, said in a statement that the Israeli authorities should have shown more responsibility and postponed demolition of the mosque till after the Eid Al Adha.
He said that the mosque was constructed on a piece of land that is officially owned by the Rahat Municipality and stressed that the village has four other mosques, all of which have been constructed without Israeli approval.
The municipality chief added that a general one-day strike would take place in protest.
