GAZA, (PIC)
Since the outbreak of the genocidal war waged by the Israeli occupation army on Gaza, its soldiers circulated video clips documenting and boasting their burning of copies of the holy Quran and desecration of mosques, and writing racist slogans on their walls in blatant contempt for the feelings of Muslims and the sanctity of their religious symbols.
In the latest scenes of the desecration of mosques in Gaza, activists on social media circulated a photo posted by an Israeli soldier showing him and his comrade standing on the pulpit of one of the mosques.
The soldiers in the photo are shown in their military uniforms, holding their weapons in a display pose, while one of them is mockingly holding a copy of the Holy Quran.
These incidents do not seem detached from the unprecedented reality experienced by the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied city of Jerusalem since its occupation in 1967, where the Mosque is witnessing an increase in the number of incursions by the Temple groups that are racing against time to demolish it and build the alleged Third Temple.
This was expressed by the Israeli Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, in the recent Flag March, when he said, “Jerusalem is ours, the Damascus Gate is ours, and the Temple Mount (Al-Aqsa Mosque) is ours.”
The recorded video clips have been repeatedly published, whether officially by the Israeli occupation army or by its soldiers who participate in the bombing operations.
On November 16, 2023, a video clip circulated on social media showed a number of Israeli occupation soldiers desecrating a mosque in the city of Beit Hanoun, north of the Gaza Strip, after its occupation, and converting it into a Jewish synagogue where they recite Talmudic rituals calling for killing and extermination.
The video shows occupation soldiers inside the mosque, armed with their weapons, gathered around a person who appeared to be a Jewish rabbi, who in turn placed a weapon on his shoulder and then began to carry a model of the Torah scrolls high.
As the other soldiers are heard chanting some of his inciting statements about killing, the Israeli flag is seen hanging on one of the walls of the mosque, which is believed to be the main mosque in the city.
On December 14, 2023, a video was circulated on social media platforms showing occupation soldiers performing a Talmudic prayer on the occasion of what they call the Hanukkah holiday through loudspeakers in one of the mosques in Jenin in the West Bank.
A few days later, a video clip was circulated on Israeli websites showing the desecration of one of the destroyed mosques in the Gaza Strip by a number of Israeli occupation soldiers.
The circulating video shows an Israeli soldier delivering a religious lesson from the Torah inside the mosque, while the rest of the soldiers are spreading out on the sides of the mosque, whose walls and facilities were severely damaged as a result of the Israeli bombardment.
On May 15, 2024, the Israeli occupation army published a video documenting the detonation and destruction of a mosque in the Gaza Strip, without mentioning any details about its name, location or the time of its explosion.
On May 23, 2024, an Israeli soldier boasted of burning a copy of the Holy Quran, and the Israeli army’s radio station on the “X” platform published a 3-second video clip, without specifying the location or date of the incident. The clip shows a soldier holding his weapon in his left hand and holding an open copy of the Holy Quran in the other, then throwing it into a burning fire.
On June 13, 2024, a video clip spread on social media platforms showed Israeli soldiers holding a barbecue party inside the Rafah Crossing Mosque, located in the southern Gaza Strip near the Egyptian border.
The vandalism in the mosque and tampering with its contents, as well as the writing of offensive phrases on its walls against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), were visible.
What are you going to do?
With the recurrence of such scenes, the activist on the X platform, Khaled Safi, wrote, “The desecration of mosques and these vile actions carried out by the occupation soldiers in Gaza are not directed at us alone, but at all Muslims around the world.”
Safi accompanied the post with a set of photos documenting the occupation soldiers’ disdain for the Islamic nation, saying, “They mock our Islam, our mosques, and everything sacred in our religion, so what are you going to do?”
Since the start of the war, the occupation army has completely destroyed 604 mosques in the Gaza Strip, including the historical Al-Omari Mosque, and partially destroyed 200 mosques and 3 churches, according to data released by the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs on May 18. In addition, 60 cemeteries were destroyed and more than 1,000 bodies of the dead Palestinians were stolen.
