Islamic Movement condemns attacks on Arab citizens in northern Israel

The Islamic Movement in Israel has condemned attacks on Arab citizens in the north of the country. In a press release, the Movement warned against “official and unofficial Israeli policies in which extremist Jewish settlers are able to join with the armed forces and police in attacks against mosques, cemeteries and sacred sites”. The statement was released following a “brutal attack” by Israeli police on the Qasim family and vandalism in a Muslim cemetery in the city of Jaffa.

“Racism like this knows no limits,” added the statement, “so who knows where these attacks will end?” The Palestinian community in Israel, said the Islamic Movement, “must be vigilant and keep these attacks in mind when considering future events.”

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There appears to have been a concerted campaign against Muslim and Christian sites in Israel recently coinciding with calls in the occupied Palestinian territories for the call to prayer in mosques to be banned. Around 200,000 signatures have been gathered for this campaign, claims the Islamic Movement.

The Qasim family were without a home and sheltering in tents when its members were thrown out by Israeli police. They sought refuge in a deserted house but they were evicted from that as well before beaten up and humiliated by police officers. “This,” said the Islamic Movement, “is part of the ethnic cleansing campaign being waged against Palestinians in Israel to throw us out of our own country.”

The statement ended with a condemnation of the “ideological protection of radical Jews inside the Israeli security and political institutions… The racists leading Israel are responsible for the constant incitement against Palestinians which leads to such attacks.”