<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" text="#000000">
<h1 class="article-title">86 Israeli Attacks on Islamic and
Christian Holy Sites in 2014</h1>
<div class="article-subtitledetails">
<span class="article-details">
<span class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part1.00060206.03010602@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> Friday January 02, 2015 01:45</span><span
class="article-detail"><img class="icon"
src="cid:part2.09090800.06070004@freedomarchives.org"
alt="author"> by IMEMC<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.imemc.org/article/70172">http://www.imemc.org/article/70172</a><br>
</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="article-intro">Al Aqsa Association for Waqf and
Heritage has reported that Israelis carried out some 86 assaults
and violations of Islamic and Christian Palestinian holy sites in
the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem in 2014.</blockquote>
In a report published Wednesday, the association stated that about
30 cases of assault on mosques, 21 cases of assault on graveyards,
six cases of attacks on Christian holy sites, and other sporadic
attacks, including preventing the call for prayer in Hebron's <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_the_Patriarchs"
target="_blank">Ibrahimi Mosque</a> hundreds of times -- amounting
to dozens a month -- were documented.<br>
<br>
To the previous list, the association added the complete destruction
of 73 mosques, the partial vandalism of 197 mosques, and damage of
one church during this past summer's war on Gaza.<br>
<br>
Al-Aqsa Association recorded five cases of burning mosques or parts
of them, including the burning of Ali bin Abi Talib mosque in the
village of Deir Estia, in Salfit, spraying of racist slogans on a
shrine in Anata town near Jerusalem, Abu Bakr mosqe in Umm al-Fahm,
and Abu Bakr mosque in the town of Aqraba, south of Nablus, and the
Great Western mosque al-Mughayir village in Ramallah.<br>
<br>
Other incidents were recorded such as the attacks on two mosques and
Islamic shrines with racist writings and Talmudic words. The report
also documented the demolishing of five mosques in Nablus, Jerusalem
and Naqab.<br>
<br>
Meanwhile, six cases of assault on Christian holy sites were also
recorded by the association. In April, <a
href="http://www.imemc.org/newswire?search_text=price+tag&button=Search+%3E%3E"
target="_blank">"price tag"</a> groups vandalized a monastery in
Rafat, to the west of Jerusalem, while an extremist Israeli
threatened a priest in Nazareth. Another incident happened in the
same month, when price tag groups sprayed racist comments near the
Roman church in Jerusalem.<br>
<br>
In May, Israeli extremists sprayed offensive comments about Jesus
Christ near a church in Beersheba. Meanwhile, other Israelis wrote
offensive comments about the prophet Mohammad and Jesus, an incident
which coincided with the Holy See’s visit to Palestine.<br>
<br>
The report also recorded 18 attacks against mosques in Hebron and
Bethlehem, while other attacks which were documented targeted
Muslim’s graveyards, such as smashing gravestones, stealing
monuments, spraying racist comments, confiscating yards and selling
the land to build commercial malls.<br>
<br>
According to the report, in 2014, Israeli forces and settler efforts
increased to take control over Waqf land to turn it into Jewish
shrines; among these attempts were putting up fake gravestones and
raiding the sites.<br>
<br>
As for the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is targeted on daily basis, the
call for prayer was prevented more than 250 times under the pretext
that it annoys Israeli settlers. The violations include preventing
worshipers from entering the mosque to pray.<br>
<br>
In the Gaza Strip, the Ministry of Waqf and Religious Affairs said
the Israeli army destroyed 73 mosques completely, 197 partially, and
one church partially. It added that six Zakat offices were
completely damaged, a waqf school was bombarded and 11 graveyards
were destroyed.
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.freedomarchives.org">www.freedomarchives.org</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>