Israeli Settlers Burn Two Mosques in the West Bank of Palestine

JAKARTA - Palestinian officials said Israeli settlers burned two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday night, after this week's deadly clashes in the area killed six people.

The mayor of the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, Abdel Azim Wadi told AFP, settlers burned a mosque under construction in the south of the city.

"The fire destroyed the entrance to the mosque and even damaged the stone building," Wadi said, launching Al Arabiya from AFP (27/7).

He added that the attackers sprayed Hebrew graffiti on the mosque's walls, including the word "revenge."

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said troops were sent to the outskirts of Qusra after receiving reports a mosque had been set on fire.

"The soldiers searched for the suspects who fled before their arrival and identified signs of arson and graffiti at the scene," the statement said, adding that Israeli police would investigate and gather evidence.

It is known that violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has increased since the latest conflict in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, broke out on October 7, 2023.

In a separate incident, Israeli settlers burned a mosque in Kour village, near Tulkarem, and sprayed racist slogans on its walls, according to the Palestinian ministry of endowments and religious affairs.

The ministry said, "a group of settlers burned a mosque in the village of Kour in the Tulkarem province and wrote racist slogans on its walls."

Previously, deadly clashes occurred between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in Tell village which killed four Palestinians and two Israelis last Friday.

The Israeli military then stormed Nablus and several nearby towns, announcing the arrest of dozens of Palestinians as they launched what they called a "counter-terrorism" operation in the West Bank.

On Saturday, the city was largely paralyzed, with long queues of vehicles forming at gas stations as fuel supplies dwindled, AFP journalists reported.

Since the start of the Gaza war, at least 1,097 Palestinians, including militants, have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers, according to Palestinian figures.

Israeli official data shows that at least 48 Israelis, both civilians and members of the security forces, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians or during Israeli military operations.

Excluding annexed East Jerusalem, some three million Palestinians live in the West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis living in settlements that are illegal under international law.