Palestinian Mosque Torched, Allegedly by Jews

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- A Palestinian mosque in a Hebron-area village was vandalized and set on fire, allegedly by Jews.

In addition to graffiti spray-painted on the building, several volumes of the Koran and prayer rugs were burned in the fire set late Sunday night.

“The IDF and security officials are working in order to find those responsible, and we view this as a grave and serious incident,” head of the Israeli Civil Administration, Brig. Gen. Yoel Mordechai, said Monday.

Mordechai offered to open a joint investigation with the Palestinian Authority, according to the Israeli military

Residents of the southern West Bank village of Beit Fajar told several media outlets that Jews from a nearby settlement attacked the mosque.

It is the third Palestinian mosque to be torched, allegedly by settlers, in the past year.

Meanwhile, a settlers' organization has scheduled a demonstration for Monday afternoon outside a mosque near the West Bank settlement of Yitzhar to protest the government's decision to seal off a synagogue built in the El-Matan settlement due to the lack of a final approval. The organization says the Burin mosque allegedly also lacks such approvals.