Two Mosques Set Ablaze in West Bank, Hamas Condemns 'Systematic Fascist Crime'

Israeli settlers burned two mosques in the occupied West Bank, drawing sharp condemnation from Hamas, which labelled the acts a systematic fascist crime and a violation of Islamic holy sites.

The targeted mosques were the Al-Rahma Mosque in Qusra, Nablus province, and a mosque in the village of Kour, south of Tulkarem. The fires damaged entranceways and stone structures.

Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi denounced the arson as a systematic fascist crime and a flagrant, intolerable violation of Islamic holy sites. He said the attacks breached all religious and humanitarian values, demonstrating the depravity and fascism of the occupation and its settler groups. Mardawi called on the Palestinian people to defend their mosques and holy places, stating the heroic Palestinian people would not allow these attacks and would stand as an impenetrable barrier against such grave violations.

Verified video footage showed flames engulfing one of the mosques. The mayor of Qusra, Abdel Azim Wadi, said settlers torched a mosque that was still under construction in the southern part of the town, destroying the entrance and damaging the stone building. He added that the perpetrators sprayed Hebrew graffiti on the walls, including the word ‘revenge’.

The Israeli military said forces were deployed to the outskirts of Qusra after receiving reports of the mosque burning. A statement said soldiers were searching for suspects who fled before their arrival and identified signs of arson and graffiti at the scene, adding that Israeli police would investigate the incident and collect evidence.

In a separate incident, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs reported that Israeli settlers also set fire to a mosque in the village of Kour, near Tulkarem, and scrawled racist slogans on its walls.