Mosques Torched in West Bank Amid Rising Tensions, Israeli Settlers Suspected
Two mosques in the occupied West Bank were set alight and vandalised with graffiti by suspected Israeli settlers early on Sunday, Palestinian officials said, in an attack believed to be linked to deadly clashes days earlier. The arson and vandalism targeted a nearly completed mosque near Nablus and another near Kour, with Hebrew slogans calling for ‘revenge’ scrawled on the walls.
Abdel Azim Wadi, head of the Qusra Village Council outside Nablus, said the mosque was in its final stages of construction and fully furnished, ready to welcome worshippers. ‘They burned it and scrawled Hebrew slogans on its walls,’ he said. The Israeli military confirmed finding graffiti and burn marks at the site, condemning the incident and vowing to ‘act firmly to maintain security and public order.’
Palestinian officials also reported that settlers attempted to torch a mosque near Kour and attacked Palestinian workers at a stone-cutting factory near Ramallah. A representative from the Kour village council said worshippers managed to extinguish the flames, which were allegedly set by three Israeli settlers, and Hebrew graffiti was also discovered there.
The attacks are believed to be a response to violent clashes on Friday that killed six people. That incident began when a group of Israeli settlers, some armed, entered the Palestinian village of Tell, southwest of Nablus. Gunfire erupted as residents confronted them. The Israeli military said shots were fired by both sides, but Palestinian authorities accused the settlers of provoking the violence. Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers were killed, including a security officer at the scene.
Following the clashes, the Israeli military conducted raids in Nablus on Saturday, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described as ‘counterterrorism’ operations. Dozens of Palestinians were arrested. Palestinian officials denounced the weekend’s events as part of a ‘systematic campaign’ in the occupied West Bank.
Violence in the West Bank has surged since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which triggered the war in Gaza. According to Palestinian authorities, at least 1,097 Palestinians, including combatants and civilians, have been killed by settlers and Israeli forces since then. Israeli authorities report that 48 civilians and security personnel have been killed in the same period.
The Netanyahu government, which opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state, has accelerated settlement construction in the disputed territory, a move widely considered illegal under international law. The government claims historical and biblical rights to the land, and some right-wing cabinet members, including Bezalel Smotrich, have called for annexation of areas occupied since 1967. Around three million Palestinians and more than 500,000 Israelis currently live in the West Bank.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV expressed deep concern over the ongoing violence in the West Bank, calling for negotiations to achieve a ‘just political solution’ and condemning actions that violate the sanctity of holy sites for all faiths.