Israeli police demolished an illegally built mosque in this impoverished Arab town on Sunday, touching off rock-throwing protests by residents and fueling new grievances against the government by the country's Arab minority.
Before dawn, police armed with clubs and shields surrounded the area as a bulldozer knocked down the mosque in the southern desert town of Rahat. Arab residents shouted in protest and prayed close to the site. Later some hurled rocks at police, said police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld. There were no injuries and five people were arrested, he said.
Rosenfeld said the two-story mosque was knocked down under a court ruling.
Hours after it was demolished, residents began pouring cement to build the foundations for a new mosque on a nearby plot.
"They demolished it and we are rebuilding," said Rahat Mayor Fayiz Abu Sahiban. He said residents built the mosque illegally because Israeli authorities would take too long to approve it, though the municipality tried to retroactively obtain a building permit. He also said most of Rahat's 13 other mosques were built illegally.