Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed fury over Monday's mosque arson in the Upper Galilee village of Tuba and instructed the Shin Bet chief to quickly locate those responsible, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
"The prime minister was furious when he saw the pictures, and said that the incident contradicts the values of the State of Israel – such as freedom of religion and freedom of worship," the statement said. "The pictures are horrifying and have no place in Israel," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.
Overnight Sunday, a mosque in the Israeli Arab village of Tuba-Zangariyee was set on fire in a suspected 'price tag' attack. The entire interior of the mosque went up in flames, causing heavy damage. Holy books inside the mosque were burned. Graffiti with the words “price tag” was found on the wall of the mosque.
Opposition leader Tzipi Livni also commented on the incident, saying that if it was indeed a "price tag" act, then it must be condemned.
"Burning mosques contradicts Israel's values as a Jewish state," she said. "Such serious incidents obligate us to conduct a national self-examination."
Ta’al MK Ahmed Tibi responded furiously to the attack, saying “whoever did not stop this cancerous growth and burning of mosques in the occupied territories should not be surprised if this cancer spreads to the state of Israel as well.”
The Arab-Israeli MK said that the arson was not a price tag attack, but rather the work of Jewish terrorists. He called for the perpetrators of the attack to be brought to justice, saying “we must maintain restrained fury on the one hand and on the other hand rebuild the mosque as quickly as possible.”
Meretz MK Zehava Galon said “steps must be taken against whoever is responsible for setting the mosque on fire. This is the result of the powerlessness of the enforcement authorities to take rabbis to task.”
Kadima MK Otniel Schneller, a resident of the settlement Maale Michmash, attacked the perpetrators of the attack, saying “price tag activists are like terrorists.”
He called on the police and security forces to penalize these “anarchic groups that are anti-Zionistic and undermine our right to this land.”