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HEBRON (Ma'an) -- Israeli forces demolished a mosque in the south Hebron hills on Tuesday, locals said.

The mosque in al-Mafqara village, near Yatta, was destroyed by Israeli forces, who prevented locals from removing books and other objects prior to the demolition, witnesses told Ma'an.

The mosque was first destroyed in 2011, having been issued a demolition order in 2003. In June this year, villagers and international activists tried to reconstruct the religious site, but were prevented from doing so by Israeli military forces.

Villagers condemned the demolition, calling it a violation of their right to worship. Israeli forces are trying to force villagers to leave their homes in order to expand Jewish-only settlements, they added.

Israeli authorities have outlined plans to demolish and evacuate eight villages in the south Hebron hills area to make space for a military training zone.

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Israeli Forces Demolish Mosque for Second Time near Hebron

HEBRON, December 4, 2012 (WAFA) – Israeli forces Tuesday demolished al-Mafqara mosque for the second time in two years, in Khierbet al-Mafqara, a locale east of the town of Yatta, south of Hebron, according to a local activist.

The Popular Committee Coordinator in Yatta, Rateb al-Jabour, told WAFA that forces, accompanied by bulldozers and heavy machinery stormed the locale at dawn, closed the two-story 120-square-meter mosque and evicted the residents, who were going to pray the morning prayer at the mosque, before they demolished it.

He said the locale residents insist on rebuilding the mosque, stressing that this is their land and that they have the official documents to prove their ownership of the land.

He added that Israel aims to force the residents to leave their land for the benefit of expanding the settlements of Avijal and Mao’n, built illegally on Yatta town land.

T.R. /F.R.