‘War on Islam’: Condemnations Follow After Israeli Ban on Mosques' Adhan Broadcasts
Palestinians have strongly criticized the decision by Israeli hawkish minister Itamar Ben-Gvir to confiscate loudspeakers from mosques in Arab towns within occupied territories. Ben-Gvir, a controversial far-right politician, described the loudspeakers as a "source of disturbance" in a public statement on Saturday.
The Palestinian National Council, the highest decision-making body for Palestinians, issued a statement on Sunday condemning the move as a "crime" against places of worship.
The council described the action as "a blatant assault on holy sites and religious practices," emphasizing that such rights are protected under international and humanitarian laws.
“These practices represent an act of bullying against the true owners of the land, whom the occupation government seeks to marginalize and treat as a minority after forcibly displacing the vast majority of them from their homes and lands,” it added, Anadolu Agency reported.
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The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas also condemned Ben-Gvir’s decision, calling it "a serious crime and an attack on freedom of worship."
In a statement, the group urged Palestinians to oppose the decision and resist attempts to undermine their religious practices and sacred sites.
Hamas called on the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and global organizations to denounce the decision, pressure Israel to halt such actions, and hold its leaders accountable for violations of Palestinian rights and sacred sites.
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The controversial decision has also been slammed by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). In a statement on Sunday, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said, “A war on Islam and Christianity has always been a major component of the far-right Israeli government’s genocide targeting the Palestinian people.”
“Attacks on mosques, churches, cultural sites, and religious texts are all part of the decades-long Israeli campaign to erase Palestinian culture,” he added.
He also blasted the Biden administration for being “complicit with this cultural erasure, systematic dehumanization and genocide,” noting that President Biden is “enabling the suppression of religious liberties” of Palestinians and Arabs through his “actions and inaction.”
The rights group called on Muslim nations to use their “collective power” and adopt “concrete actions” to “end this genocide.”
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Ben-Gvir, known for his provocative rhetoric and hardline policies against Palestinians, has drawn widespread criticism for his recent actions and statements.
He has advocated for measures such as the execution of Palestinian prisoners as a "partial solution" to alleviate overcrowding in Israeli prisons and called for the annexation of the occupied West Bank.
He has also supported reestablishing Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip and threatened to destabilize the Israeli government coalition if prisoner swap deals with Palestinian factions in Gaza were pursued.
These developments come against the backdrop of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, where the regime’s forces have killed over 44,400 people, predominantly women and children, since October 7, 2023.
Source: Agencies
