Mosque Torch in Al Lubban ash Sharqiya village

Violation: mosque set into fire.

Date: May 4, 2010.

Violators: herds of colonists.

Victims: the main mosque – the worshippers.

Details:

In the dawn of Tuesday, May 4, 2010, a group of colonists sneaked into Al Lubban ash Sharqiya taking advantage of the fact that the town has no central electricity network.

They slipped into the mosque, collected any flammable item, including copies of the holy Quran, books, curtains, etc, sprayed them with gas, and set them into fire in the middle of the mosque.

Picture 3: a locker used to be filled with books

Picture 4: the remains of the religious books

Picture 5: copies of the Holy Quran and religious books were turned into ashes

Before leaving the area, the colonists smashed a car that belonged to one of the residents. The incident caused a lot of noise which awakened the locals who were shocked to see the mosque burning. Soon afterwards, fire trucks rushed into the area, coming from Salfit and Nablus, unfortunately, they were too late. Now, the villagers have no place to pray.

Picture 6: the smashed car

A group of Israeli soldiers appeared in the morning, surrounded the crime scene, prevented entry, and claimed the intention to investigate the fire. They claimed that the fire was due to an electricity failure in an attempt to cover up the colonists’ crime. Pictures included in this report make clear that the fire was deliberate and man-made.

Picture 7: Israeli soldiers spreading around the mosque, Ma’alee Levona colony can be seen

Picture 8: Israeli soldiers closing the mosque entrance

Targeting religious sites… an organized policy blessed by the Israeli Occupation Government and Army:

The recent attack is part of the organized crimes of the colonists, which are protected by the Israeli Occupation Army and Authorities and their so-called law. Such aggressions aim to spark the conflict a night before the beginning of the indirect negotiations that are to be held between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

In addition, it shows the Israelis disrespect and disregard of the holy shrines and religious symbols. It is notable that during the last three years, mosques have become a regular target for the colonists’ hostility.

Yasuf Mosque was burned weeks ago, Bilal Ibn Rabah mosque in Huwwara was attacked by colonists who wrote racist and disrespectful mottos on the walls of the mosque. In addition, colonists broke into several Palestinian villages (including Jinsafut, Elias, Huwwara, Al Funduq, and Kafr Laqif) and wrote offensive statements on the mosques’ wallas and gates.

Such aggression reached their peak, when the Israeli PM, Benjamin Netinyahu, announced the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron and Bilal Ibn Rabah Mosque in Bethlehem Jewish cultural sites. All of these incidents are part of an organized Israeli official and non-official policy that targets the Palestinian Muslims. Also, it shows the Israeli disregard and contempt against religious sites and symbols which ought to be protected.

The continuous aggressions are due to the Israeli government policies that are similar to the radical Jewish colonists. The government provides full protection to the colonists and sometimes takes action by itself. It simply blesses crimes against people, religious symbols, and against humanity.

Al Lubban ash Sharqiya:

It is located 20 km to the south east of Nablus city. It is surrounded by a number of Palestinian villages including Qaryut, Yasuf, Salfit, and others. The village total area is 12075 dunums including 150 dunums of built up area.

240 dunums are planted with vegetables, 700 dunums placed under surrounding Israeli colonies control, 200 dunums used for the milling of by-pass road (60), and the rest is planted with olives, figs, and different prunus.

The village is inhabited by 2900 people; most of them belong to ‘Awaysa and Daraghma families. The unemployment rate in the villages is extremely high, reaching more than 51%.

14% of the population has regular jobs, whereas the rest depend largely on agriculture.

The colonial activities in Al Lubban ash Sharqiya:

Two Israeli colonies, which form a daily nightmare for the locals, are built on Al Lubban ash Sharqiya lands.

1- Ma’alee Levona colony: it was established in 1983 and its total population is somewhere around 545 colonists. The total area of the colony is 1942 dunums including 251 dunums of built-up area. It started as a colonial nucleus built on Al Lubban ash Sharqiya land, however, its total area expanded rapidly in recent years to cover areas in the Palestinian villages of ‘Abwein and Sinjil.

A number of facilities are available in the colony including a kindergarten, student housing, technology and religious schools, Hebrew language school, clinic, synagogue, and a huge aluminum processing facility. In 2005, the Israeli Occupation authorities decided creating a security wall around the colony for its protection. Such plan cost the Palestinian villagers 500 dunums of their lands which deprived tens of families from their only source of living.

Picture 9: Ma’alee Levona

2- Eli colony: the colony started by placing a caravan on ‘Ali Mountain, a name which was changed later to Eli.

It is still expanding till today. Nowadays, it lies on 7 hills that are parts of the Palestinian villages of Qaryut, Talfit, Al Lubban ash Sharqiya, and As Sawiya. The total area of the colony has reached more than 2430 dunums including 776 dunums of built-up area. It is inhabited by 2420 colonists who make use of the different facilities (hotel, religious college, graveyard, etc) available in the colony.