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West Bank mosque defaced by graffiti
Graffiti insulting the Prophet Muhammad was found Sunday scrawled on a West Bank mosque, heightening tensions already inflamed by caricatures of Islam's founder reprinted in a Danish newspaper.IDF soldiers washed off the slogans on the mosque in the West Bank village of Neve Elias near Kalkilya, which included one that equated Muhammad with a pig, an animal held by Muslims to be unclean. The Star of David was also drawn next to the slogans. Palestinian eyewitnesses reported that they spotted a car with Israeli license plates fleeing the area. Aggrieved villagers gathered to protest, and shortly after, several Palestinians protestors were wounded when soldiers fired at their legs after being pelted with rocks, Israel Radio reported. In a related incident, an Israeli woman was also wounded after her car was pelted with stones near Kalkilya. The woman was evacuated to a hospital, and her condition wasn't immediately known. IDF officers and civilian guards apologized profusely for the incident. In contrast, right-wing activist and head of the "National Jewish Front" extremist organization Baruch Marzel was less apologetic. "While I do not condone these actions, I cannot condemn them either at a time when Arabs are defacing Torah scrolls and burning Israeli flags", said Marzel. MK Michael Melchior called the actions a profanity. "The Graffiti is offensive not only to Islam but also to the image of Jews in the world and it damages our coexistence with our Arab neighbors," said the Meimad leader. "Any believing Jew should protest against this heinous crime," he added. "We need to do all within our powers to catch those lawbreakers who are trying to enflame the region with their misdeeds." Shades of Tawana Brawley? Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-02-12 |
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