Several hundred Palestinians gathered in the West Bank villages of Nebi Elias, Azun and Funduq to protest the spraying of an anti-Prophet Muhammad graffiti on the wall of a local mosque early Sunday. According to press reports, the Palestinians torched tires and threw stones at Israeli vehicles. One Israeli woman was injured and four other suffered anxiety as a result of the incident.
Palestinians also hurled cinder blocks at an Israeli force in the village of Azun, which is located near the city of Qalqilia, Ynetnews reported. Occupation troops responded with fire. Three Palestinians were wounded.
The graffiti insulting Prophet Muhammad was found on the wall of the mosque in the West Bank village of Nebi Elias Sunday morning. The wall was sprayed with the slogan "Muhammad is a pig," and a cross of David was painted underneath it.
According to Israeli army sources, settlers have daubed this graffiti. According to Haaretz, Israeli soldiers have erased the graffiti.
Tensions are already high in the West Bank, where protests have been held over the publication in European newspapers of cartoons depicting the Prophet. "Overnight, a group of settlers came to a mosque in the village of Nabi Ilyas and spray painted the graffiti," the army source said, according to Haaretz.
"I open the mosque every day for dawn prayers. Today, when I went to open it, I saw a person wearing a skullcap spray painting at the wall," Othman Zimmari, 67, told Reuters. "When he saw me, he ran towards a white car with yellow (Israeli) license plates. I could not tell if there were other people with the car. I rushed inside the mosque and locked the door because I was afraid," he said.
