Israeli occupiers burn prayer room, car, scrawl racist slogans in occupied Jerusalem

Israeli occupiers set fire to a prayer room and a car and scrawled racist slogans in the town of Mukhmas, northeast of occupied Jerusalem, early Wednesday, according to a local official.

Mohammed Kanaan, a member of Mukhmas’ municipal council, told Anadolu that a group of Israeli occupiers attacked the area at around 2 am local time (2300GMT Tuesday) and set fire to the prayer room and a car.

The occupiers also scrawled racist slogans at the site, Kanaan said, adding that local residents promptly notified the relevant authorities and requested the intervention of firefighting crews to extinguish the blaze.

The attack comes amid ongoing violence by Israeli occupiers against Palestinians and their property across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It also coincides with the olive harvest season, during which attacks against Palestinian farmers have intensified.

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On Monday, the Palestinian Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission said it had documented 136 attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers linked to the olive harvest since the beginning of October.

According to the commission, the attacks included beatings, expulsions, intimidation, gunfire, tear gas, arrests, theft of olives and harvesting equipment, and damage to trees. The incidents have harmed Palestinian farmers and restricted their access to their land.

Israeli army raids and attacks by occupiers against Palestinians and their property have intensified across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023.

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