How Israel deals with Muslims

Israeli police officers razed a mosque they said was built illegally in the southern city of Rahat as residents hurled rocks at them. Hundreds of police officers accompanied by land authority officials arrived in the city. They had bulldozers and trucks, and said they were carrying out a court order, according to Mayor Faiz Abu-Sahaban. The mayor said residents built the mosque before they had permits. The mayor said resolving the issue through dialogue was better than razing the mosque. Residents protested the demolition and threw stones at the police, who used rubber bullets to disperse them, he said. Residents started rebuilding the mosque, he said, and declared a strike in protest of the demolition. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the mosque was razed to honor a July 2010 court ruling. Rosenfeld said five residents were arrested. Rahat is home to more than 50,000 Bedouins and is just north of the southern city of Beer Sheva. The Bedouins are an Arab Muslim minority and are citizens of Israel. They have lived in the Negev desert for centuries leading a Nomadic lifestyle. Half of them live in unrecognized villages with no basic rights or municipal services. The other half who live in permanent towns are socially and economically disadvantaged with the lowest income in the country.