(Jenin) The Palestinian Authority on Thursday condemned images showing Israeli soldiers reciting a Jewish prayer in a mosque in the occupied West Bank, calling the “desecration” “shameful”.
This video, obtained by AFP, shows Israeli soldiers inside a mosque in the Jenin refugee camp, using its loudspeakers to recite the Shema Yisrael, a major prayer in Judaism.
At the end of the video, bursts of laughter can be heard, as the troops leave the mosque and a Hanukkah song is broadcast, again via loudspeaker.
“The desecration by the Israeli occupying forces of a mosque in the Jenin camp is shameful and reprehensible behavior,” declared Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abou Roudeina
He warned against the risk of “driving the region into a religious war” and against “the repercussions of these attacks”.
Israeli troops launched their incursion into the northern city and its refugee camp early Tuesday and were still present there Thursday afternoon. Eleven Palestinians were killed in this incursion, according to a new report Thursday from the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry.
Four soldiers were injured, according to the Israeli army.
“The flames of religious war that Israel seeks to ignite will not be limited to the Palestinian region alone, but will extend to the entire world if it remains silent in the face of Israel’s crimes and violations of the rights of the Palestinian people “, he added.
He called on the international community and the United States to “pressure Israel to end its violations against the Palestinian people, their property and their sacred values.”
The Israeli army said the soldiers involved had been removed from operational activities and will face disciplinary proceedings.
“Measures will be taken accordingly against those who do not act in accordance with the values of the Israeli army,” responded army spokesperson Daniel Hagari.