Palestinians Say Israeli Settlers Torch Mosques, Cars and Farmland in West Bank

Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques, along with cars and agricultural land in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said, in the latest violence to grip the territory.

The attacks came two days after clashes near the village of Tal that left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead. Each side blamed the other for triggering the violence.

The confrontation has further inflamed tensions in the West Bank, where attacks by extremist settlers against Palestinians have increased amid accusations that far-right members of Israel’s governing coalition have emboldened such violence.

According to Palestinian officials, settlers attacked two villages overnight, vandalising cars, stealing property and spray-painting anti-Arab graffiti.

The mayor of Qusra said settlers torched a mosque that was under construction.

“They sprayed graffiti, including the word ‘revenge’, on the mosque’s walls,” Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi said.

The Israeli military said troops were deployed to Qusra and that police had opened an investigation and were collecting evidence.

In a separate incident, Palestinian officials said settlers also set fire to another mosque in the nearby village of Kour and daubed slogans on its walls.

Palestinians say there have been multiple settler attacks on villages across the West Bank since Friday’s deadly confrontation in Tal.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have meanwhile conducted raids and arrested dozens of Palestinians as part of what they described as a “counter-terrorism” operation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the violence in Tal by pledging “powerful action”, including the possible demolition of the homes of two Palestinians alleged to have been involved.

Settler violence in the West Bank has risen sharply in recent months, drawing widespread international condemnation but showing little sign of abating.

The security situation had already been deteriorating before the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Since the ensuing war in Gaza, violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank has escalated further.

According to the United Nations, 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Gaza war began, the vast majority during Israeli military operations. The UN says at least 35 of those deaths involved settler attacks.

The UN also says 41 Israelis, including civilians and members of the security forces, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank over the same period.

Israel has built hundreds of settlements housing around 700,000 Israelis since capturing the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war. Palestinians seek those territories, together with Gaza, for a future independent state. About 3.3 million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside the settlements, which are considered illegal under international law, a position Israel disputes.