Minaret (illustrative)
Minaret (illustrative)Arutz Sheva

In the city of Lod, the violence has continued virtually unabated over the past few days, despite an enhanced police and Border Police presence, and a nighttime curfew.

In a new and disturbing development, Arabs from the eastern part of Jerusalem have been arriving in Lod to bolster the local community and join them in perpetrating acts of violence on the city’s Jews.

Far from calling for a cessation of violence, as many Jewish leaders have done this week, Lod’s so-called spiritual leaders in the city’s mosques are openly preaching incitement and encouraging their followers to continue in the path of bloodshed. Entirely absent from their religious propaganda has been any suggestion that civilians, at the very least, should be spared.

One speech, given by a visiting Muslim preacher, was recorded by local residents and widely disseminated. The words he spoke were deliberately crafted to stoke the flames in Lod.

“You have proven that the fundamental significance of the Al-Aqsa mosque is embedded deep in your hearts, Oh servants of Allah! We are not terrorists – you [i.e. the Jews -ed.] are terrorists. We are not murderers – you are murderers. We are not criminals – you are criminals. We are not agents of destruction – you are the agents of destruction.”

The preacher continued: “And so, servants of Allah, Allah has given you the privilege of defending the honor of this city. Allah has made you great and multiplied your praises. He has given you this privilege when the first shahid [martyr] to fall was one of you, a shahid who fell in the cause of the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque. We proclaim that the Al-Aqsa mosque will remain our mosque and that no Jew has the right to set foot inside it and not even in the dust outside it, even if they kill a shahid every single day!”

The preacher’s words were punctuated by shouts of “Allahu Akbar!” [Allah is great] from the crowd listening.

“The mosque will remain in Muslim hands only! Even if they claim another shahid every single day! But why did the shahid fall? Why was he killed and why did he give up his life? He died for one reason – because in this city, a gang of terrorists rules, a gang of destroyers, a gang of criminals.”