Violation: The Israeli “High Court of Justice” prevents the call for prayers at a mosque.
Location: The village of Burin in Nablus Governorate.
Date: February 13, 2012
Perpetrators: The colonists of Yetzhar.
The Violation:
The so-called Israeli “High Court of Justice” issued its ruling on February 13, 2012, that prevented the call of prayers from the Salman Al Farisi Mosque in the village of Burin. The ruling came after the colonists of Yetzhar filed a case against the Mosque under the pretext that the call of prayers is “noisy” and “causes disturbance” to the residents of the colony due to the mosque’s close proximity to it.
It has to be pointed out that the Mosque has received two Stop Work Orders in the year 2010 by the Israeli occupation forces. It, also, was a target of repeated attacks by the colonists. For example, in the past two years the colonists have surrounded the village of Burin more than once with the declared goal of burring down the Mosque. Yet, the alertness of the residents of Burin prevented the colonists from achieving their goal.
However, the attempts continue as colonists of Yetzhar have marched a number of times asking the occupation authorities to execute the decision to dismantle and demolish the Mosque. The demolition orders were issued under the pretext that the Mosque was built “without a permit”. The colonists have also contended that “terrorist” attacks were initiated from the Mosque. The targeting of the Mosque goes only to show that the on-going conflict has two dimensions; religious as well as control of the lands and resources.
The head of the Burin Village Council indicated to the Land Research Center (LRC)’s that work started on the Mosque in 2009. It is located in a Palestinian land close to the village’s elementary school and very close to the center of the village. The location of the Mosque and its close proximity to the village’s center dispels the Israeli claim that the Mosque is near the colony or that it forms a threat to it.
It is worth noting that colonists throughout the occupied Palestinian lands have increased the frequency of targeting mosques through burning or writing racist and insulting graffiti on its walls without any iota of respect to other religions. For additional information on the series of attacks against the Mosque, please press here.
Burin:
The name of the village stems from the Arabic name bour which means an uncultivated land. Since there are two bour lands (in the east and the west of Nablus), the names became burin. The village is located 2 kilometers away from the Nablus-Ramallah main road. The city of Nablus borders the village from the north, the villages of Oureef and Hiwwara from the south, the villages of Madama and Aseira Al Qibliyya from the west and the villages of Awerta and Adla from the east.
It is also located 8 kilometers south of the City of Nablus with a total area of 10,416 dunum. Its built-up area is 335 dunums. Its population is about 3,500. Two Israeli colonies were established on its lands; Brakha (on 205 dunums of Burins’ lands) and Yetzhar (on 105 dunusm of Burins’ lands).
Prepared by
The Land Research Center
LRC
The Land Research Center
LRC
