Illegal Rahat mosque: Clashes as Israelis raze building Published duration 7 November 2010

image caption The mosque was built without a permit

Police and residents clashed in the southern Israeli city of Rahat as an illegally built mosque was demolished.

Protesting residents said the police used rubber bullets and tear gas against them, while the police accused locals of throwing stones at them.

Thousands of police were reportedly deployed in the operation in the Bedouin city in the Negev desert.

Police said a local court had ordered the mosque's razing as it was built without a permit.

Yusuf Abu Jamer, a spokesman for the local branch of the Islamic Movement, said residents had built the structure illegally because the Israeli authorities would take too long to grant approval.