Israeli right-wing activists clashed with police in Jerusalem, slashing tires and breakings windows on police cars, after arsonists torched a mosque in the capital city.
The Nebi Akasha mosque, built in the 12th century and idle for several years, was set alight Dec. 14. The words “Mohammed is dead” and “A good Arab is a dead Arab” were spray-painted on and around the site.
The torching follows a series of attacks by extremist settlers and their supporters in the West Bank in reaction to the possible evacuation of illegal outposts.
Israeli Justice Minister Yaakov Ne’eman convened a meeting with Justice Ministry officials, police representatives and Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitz at the request of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the recent acts of settler violence.
The group recommended to Netanyahu that acts of violence by right-wing activists be called terror acts and the perpetrators terrorists. Netanyahu rejected that recommendation, but ordered a more severe crackdown.
On Dec. 13, two trucks and a car were set ablaze in a Palestinian village near Nablus and a Jewish woman was arrested in connection with rocks thrown at Palestinian cars in the northern West Bank.
Danny Dayan, chairman of the Yesha Council, which represents West Bank settlements, condemned the attack, as did the right-wing group Im Tirtzu. The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America also condemned the attack. — jta & ynetnews.com