ISRAEL RAZES MOSQUE IN BEDOUIN CITY OF RAHAT

The Israeli Lands Administration (ILA) inspectors backed by police force on November 7 demolished a mosque in the Bedouin city of Rahat, in southern Israel. Fayez Abu Sehaiban, Rahat mayor, said some 5,000 police officers secured the demolition of the Al-Sahwah Mosque in the city. He added that violent clashes erupted between the citizens who gathered to defend the mosque and the Israeli police. No injuries were reported, and Israeli officers used tear gas to disperse the crowd, Abu Sehaiban said. A few protesters were arrested. The Rahat municipality decaled a general strike to protest the demolition. Rahat, situated just north of Be’er Sheva, is the Negev’s only Bedouin city, with over 52,000 residents. Abu Sehaiban claimed the act was a direct offence against Muslims, saying that the “police should act responsibly and use its discretion.” He added that the act was a “flagrant violation” of Rahat’s jurisdiction. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the two-storey mosque in the southern Israeli city of Rahat was knocked down under a court ruling. Before dawn, police armed with clubs and shields surrounded the area as a bulldozer knocked down the mosque. Arab residents shouted in protest and conducted their prayers close to the site in defiance. Later, some protesters hurled rocks at police, Rosenfeld said. Five people were arrested; there were no injuries. Hours after the mosque was demolished, residents began pouring cement to build the foundations for a new mosque on a nearby plot. “They demolished it and we are rebuilding,” said Abu Sehaiban. He said the municipality tried to retroactively obtain a building permit.