Vandals set fire to mosque in east Jerusalem
Israeli police said on Friday they are investigating after a “room was ignited” in a mosque on the outskirts of Jerusalem and Hebrew graffiti was found on an outside wall, The Associated Press reported.
The graffiti was hard to make out but appears to have been left by ultranationalist Israelis. One part read, “Demolishing (for) Jews? Demolishing enemies!” an apparent reference to the dismantling of settler outposts in the West Bank.
The source added that the mosque is in the Arab neighborhood of Beit Safafa, in annexed east Jerusalem.
Regardless of the site's political affinity, the compound is one of the key structures of Islamic architecture, as it is one of the first Islamic monuments of decorative, structural, and religious importance.