Arsonists torch mosque in West Bank villageSettler violence is not a new phenomenon but it has certainly increased in recent years. This is not even the first time mosques have been targeted by arsonists. You can see stories about other recent arson attacks against West Bank mosques; here is one about a mosque in Yasuf and another in Luban Ash-Sharqiya. The Palestine Center did an extensive presentation on what settler violence is, who it endangers and where this is happening throughout the West Bank. You can see the video for this presentation here and the slide-show appears below.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Arsonists torched a mosque in a Palestinian village in the West Bank on Monday, scrawling "revenge" on a wall in Hebrew and charring copies of the Muslim holy book in a blaze that threatened to stoke new tensions over deadlocked Mideast peacemaking.
Palestinians suspect hardline Jewish settlers set the fire in the village of Beit Fajjar. The lead Palestinian negotiator said the fire reflected the significance Jewish West Bank settlements have in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Peacemaking has stalled just a month after a new round of talks was launched in Washington.
It should be noted that arson is one of the most often occurring types of settler attacks. From Jan. 2009 through Aug. 2010 we coded 84 instances of arson perpetrated by Israeli settlers in the West Bank - that's nearly 4.2 instances of arson per month!. These range from attacks that set fire to mosques, olive groves and other structures like houses or farm buildings.
What is particularly striking about today's incident is the location. The mosque that was burned was in Beit Fajjar, a village in the Bethlehem governorate. In our data set covering 18 months, only 3% of all Arson attacks took place in the Bethlehem governorate. The majority is concentrated in the north in areas like Nablus (40% ), Qalqilya (21%) and also Hebron (13%) in the south. Over time we have noticed an increase in arson attacks in Qalqilya which seemed to suggest that settlers were employing tactics that they saw being used successfully in neighboring districts. This arson attack today in Bethlehem maybe a sign that the use of this tactic is spreading into a governorate which previously had seen less of these types of attacks. Below is an interactive map which allows you to see the locations of arson attacks by settlers throughout the West Bank in the 18 month period we analyzed.
Anyone who doubts the potential ramifications of settler violence need only be reminded of the massacre perpetuated by Baruch Goldstien, an American born Israeli Settler and disciple of the militant Rabbi Meir Kahane, who opened fire on unsuspecting Muslim worshipers as they prayed in a Hebron mosque. The attack left 29 dead and 120+ injured and it triggered a period of violence which featured, for the first time, suicide bombers.
The violence against Palestinian civilians and their property by settlers who are living illegal on Palestinian land continues to be an increasing threat that receives little attention. The video and slide-show above go into detail about why little is being done to stop these attacks and that in fact IDF and Israeli police often actively facilitate these attacks. This failure to protect the Palestinian civilian population is despite the fact that, from a policing perspective, this is a relatively simple problem to solve.
As we approach the olive harvest season, an important cultural and economic moment for Palestinians, many are also bracing for another spike in settler violence. You see as Palestinians descend onto their olive groves to collect the fruit at the center of their livelihood, they become easy targets for settlers who often attack in groups and with little fear of legal ramifications. Each year we have noticed a dramatic spike in settler violence in this period. When it happens again this fall, and in all likelihood it will, will the US media be paying attention?
0 comments: on "Settlers Torch Mosque...Again"
Post a Comment