ALBAWABA - The Israeli army on Thursday demolished a mosque north of the occupied West Bank, one local Palestinian official told the Anadolu recently.
The head of the local council in Douma Suleiman Dawabsheh told the Turkish news agency, the occupation forces stormed the Al-Shakara neighborhood ransacking the mosque in the village which lies to the south of Nablus.
"The demolished mosque is two years old and spread over 60 square meters,” Dawabsheh told Anadolu. The mosque is important for the villagers which they frequent regularly for prayers.
Israeli soldiers visited the area at down on Thursday and demolished the mosque according to posts on the social media which showed only a few copies of the holy Koran remained.
zionists destroyed a mosque in douma near nablus at dawn today https://t.co/Q37npAn1Ly
— leila (@ainiladra) November 4, 2021
صورة لما تبقى من مسجد ومصلى دوما الذي هدمه الاحـتلال فجر اليوم جنوبي نابلس pic.twitter.com/vvExmSygES
— وكالة صفا (@SafaPs) November 4, 2021
The official said the Israeli army razed the mosque on the grounds that it was built on an area classified as area C without a permit, Anadolu reported.
Under the 1995 Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was divided into three portions – Area A, B, and C – with area C under administrative and security control of Israel until a final status agreement is reached with the Palestinians.
Israeli soldiers demolished, today at dawn, a Palestinian mosque in Douma town, south of the northern West Bank city of Nablus. https://t.co/GLgTQRqRvT pic.twitter.com/WPe877XyAi
— Staat van Beleg (@StaatVanBeleg) November 4, 2021
Head of the Douma Council Dawabsheh said two agricultural facilities in the south and west of the town were also demolished. He added the aim is to restrict "the urban expansion of the village of Douma from three sides, and making way for settlement expansion."
The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned the demolition of the mosque, calling such an act as a new crime against Muslim holy sites.
مصادر محلية: الاحتلال يهدم مسجدًا ومنشآت أخرى في قرية دوما جنوب نابلس، صباح اليوم. pic.twitter.com/V6nALHnzxJ
— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 4, 2021
Area C is currently home to 300,000 Palestinians, the vast majority of whom are Bedouins and herding communities who predominantly live in tents, caravans, and caves.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), points out the Israeli army demolished at least 698 Palestinian-owned structures and displaced 949 Palestinians in Area C of the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the beginning of 2021.
