A mosque in the West Bank village of Beit Fajjar, near Bethlehem, became the latest victim of the arsonist militant Israeli settlers. The Jewish militants are suspected to have set the mosque ablaze Monday night. This is the fourth such attack on the Muslim holy sites by these militants in a desperate attempt to stop the peace negotiations with the Palestinians. Human rights activists believe that this is being done with the intention of increasing the hatred and violence among the Muslims.
During previous such attacks, attackers had left behind graffiti on the mosque walls. The writing in Hebrew left no doubt as to the identity of the arsonists. The phrase ‘price tag’ was used to refer to the usage of violent methods to retaliate against the Israeli security forces for the attacks on militant settlers.
The Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, has condemned the latest attack, calling it a shameful act that ruins the image of Israel and its values. He called the arsonists ‘terrorists’.
The attack on the mosque near Bethlehem comes as the U.S., Israel and Palestine restarts fresh peace talks. Earlier the peace talks had been disrupted when a Jewish man gunned down 29 worshipers in a mosque.
The attackers hope to stop the peace talks by escalating the violence and changing the war into one which is directly between the Jews and Muslims.
Academicians and human rights activists feel that they are aiming for a third intifada or uprising. History has shown us that the terrorists have been successful in the past in hampering peace talks through violence and hatred. Although several cases have been filed against the Jewish attackers, very few have actually been indicted. The Palestinian militants have also mirrored the violent streak and there have been three shootings in the past few months.
