Salfit / PNN/

Israeli colonists set fire to the Hajja Hamida Mosque, located between the towns of Deir Istiya and Kafr Haris, northwest of Salfit, early Thursday morning, and scrawled racist slogans on its walls.

Nazmi Salman, an activist against settlement expansion, said that residents were shocked to find colonists had set the mosque ablaze by pouring flammable material at the entrance.

He added that residents intervened to prevent the fire from spreading throughout the mosque and that the colonists had also spray-painted racist slogans hostile to Arabs and Muslims on its walls.

The Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs condemned the heinous crime that occurred at dawn today at the Hajja Hamida Mosque, located between the towns of Kafr Haris and Deir Istiya, and defaced its walls with racist graffiti.

In a statement, the Ministry asserted that the burning of the mosque clearly demonstrates the barbarity to which the racist Israeli incitement machine has descended against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine. The statement added that this crime is a blatant attack on Muslims and their religious sentiments.

The Ministry further clarified that no place of worship is safe under the attacks and crimes perpetrated by the Israeli occupation and its settler gangs. It considered this attack a new act of provocative racism, adding to the long list of Israeli crimes against holy sites.

It also added that the repeated attacks on holy sites, including arson, closures, and the prevention of the call to prayer, are clear evidence of the brutal barbarity of the occupation. The Ministry asserted that these crimes violate all international laws and conventions guaranteeing freedom of worship and the right to establish places of worship.

The Ministry called upon international Islamic institutions, such as the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as well as Arab and Islamic states, to work towards ending these indescribable attacks.

The Ministry also urged local councils and citizens to exercise caution and vigilance during these difficult times for the Palestinian people.