A mob of 300 Arabs in Hevron attacked and burnt the Danish and Norwegian peace-keeping headquarters this morning. Cars and other property belonging to the observers were also targeted.
PA police fired in the air, but the rioting did not quiet down. Israeli forces are standing by, ready to intervene if necessary.
Jewish residents of Hevron viewed the violence with irony, as the peacekeeping force has long been perceived as being partial to the Moslems against the Jews.
The violence was sparked by worldwide Moslem offense taken at anti-Mohammed cartoons published in Danish and Norwegian newspapers several months ago. Three Afghans have been killed in anti-Danish rioting in Afghanistan in the past two days.
The intense international Moslem response of the last two weeks began with Libya and Saudi Arabia recalling their ambassadors from Denmark, and continued with violent protests across the Middle East. In many places, including in the Palestinian Authority, angry mobs burnt the Danish flag. This past weekend, the most serious violence occurred in Beirut and Damascus, where the Danish and Norwegian Embassies, and the Danish Consulate, were torched and heavily damaged.
An Iranian newspaper announced yesterday that it was sponsoring a contest for cartoons on the Holocaust. The Hamshahri newspaper, published by the Tehran municipality, plans to run the contest. Farid Mortazavi, the paper's graphics editor, was quoted by AFP as saying, "The Western papers printed these sacrilegious cartoons [against Mohammed] on the pretext of freedom of expression, so let's see if they mean what they say and also print these Holocaust cartoons."
Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Center, said, "They're following the classic formula of Adolf Hitler, which says if there's a problem, it's the fault of the Jews."
France's Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk said, "The Iranian regime has dropped to new depths if it regards the deaths of six million Jews as a matter for humor or to score cheap political points... though we're not surprised."
PA police fired in the air, but the rioting did not quiet down. Israeli forces are standing by, ready to intervene if necessary.
Jewish residents of Hevron viewed the violence with irony, as the peacekeeping force has long been perceived as being partial to the Moslems against the Jews.
The violence was sparked by worldwide Moslem offense taken at anti-Mohammed cartoons published in Danish and Norwegian newspapers several months ago. Three Afghans have been killed in anti-Danish rioting in Afghanistan in the past two days.
The intense international Moslem response of the last two weeks began with Libya and Saudi Arabia recalling their ambassadors from Denmark, and continued with violent protests across the Middle East. In many places, including in the Palestinian Authority, angry mobs burnt the Danish flag. This past weekend, the most serious violence occurred in Beirut and Damascus, where the Danish and Norwegian Embassies, and the Danish Consulate, were torched and heavily damaged.
An Iranian newspaper announced yesterday that it was sponsoring a contest for cartoons on the Holocaust. The Hamshahri newspaper, published by the Tehran municipality, plans to run the contest. Farid Mortazavi, the paper's graphics editor, was quoted by AFP as saying, "The Western papers printed these sacrilegious cartoons [against Mohammed] on the pretext of freedom of expression, so let's see if they mean what they say and also print these Holocaust cartoons."
Rabbi Marvin Hier, Dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Center, said, "They're following the classic formula of Adolf Hitler, which says if there's a problem, it's the fault of the Jews."
France's Chief Rabbi Joseph Sitruk said, "The Iranian regime has dropped to new depths if it regards the deaths of six million Jews as a matter for humor or to score cheap political points... though we're not surprised."