Illegal, demolished mosque's founders ordered to pay damages
Court orders founders of illegal mosque to pay NIS 130,000 to the state as compensation for riots, which it says were triggered by incitement after the mosque was marked for demolition.
Seven years after the destruction of the illegally built mosque in Rahat, the Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court ruled Wednesday that its founders and operators would pay the state compensation of only NIS 130,000, even though the court ruled their incitement led to a wave of riots, the deployment of hundreds of policemen and damages estimated at close to half a million shekels.
The lawsuit was filed by the Southern District Attorney's Office against eight residents of Rahat, who were members of the mosque committee, and demanded compensation of NIS 459,500.
The suit based the amount on the costs of the Israel Land Administration's activities for the demolition (approximately NIS 116,000) and on the costs of police activities (NIS 343,472).
In total, 748 police officers took part in the demolition and were deployed to face the ensuing riots.
The mosque was illegally built in 2010 by the Islamic Movement’s Northern Branch on public property. Six months after it was built, the Be'er Sheva Magistrate's Court and District Court marked the 400-square meter structure for demolition.
The evacuation of the building sparked riots in the city, and large police forces were rushed to the scene in an attempt to disperse rioters and de-escalate the situation.
According to the state, the defendants initiated and conducted false procedures to delay and obstruct the evacuation, and even called on the public to oppose the demolition.
"The public coffers should not bear the price of the behavior of the accused, who clearly ignored conclusive decisions … and took the law into their own hands," the lawsuit stated.
The defendants argued that according to Islamic law, the mosque is defined as a house of God, and therefore he is the lawful proprietor.
They added that they had exhausted the legal procedures for preventing the mosque's destruction and gave up after the mosque was set to be demolished, claiming they did not commit any illegal act afterwards and did not incite anyone to riot against the courts' decision.
"Naturally, when you talk about a holy place built by the residents, and the residents see police forces in great numbers coming and demolishing the mosque, it bothers and hurts them," they explained.
The compensation ruling was given in accordance with an arrangement reached by the defense and prosecution, which authorized the court to specify without explanation any sum between 100,000 to 200,000 shekels to be paid as compensation for the costs of the mosque's illegal construction and ensuing riots.
