Palestinian officials accuse Israeli settlers of mosque arson in West Bank

A person checks a damaged mosque, which according to Palestinians was burned by Israeli settlers, near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. (Reuters)

A person stands at a damaged mosque, which according to Palestinians was burned by Israeli settlers, near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. (Reuters)

• Attack targeted the Bir Al-Walidain mosque in the village of Marda
• Settlers also vandalized the mosque’s walls with “racist graffiti” in Hebrew

NABLUS: Palestinian officials reported on Friday that Israeli settlers had set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank, an act Israeli police said was under investigation.
According to Abdallah Kamil, the governor of Salfit, the attack targeted the Bir Al-Walidain mosque in the village of Marda.
“A group of settlers carried out an attack early this morning by setting fire to the mosque,” Kamil said in a statement.
In addition to the arson, the settlers vandalized the mosque’s walls with “racist graffiti” in Hebrew, he said.
Photographs shared on social media showed slogans spray-painted in black including “Death to Arabs.”
Villagers of Marda confirmed the details, with one resident telling AFP: “They set fire to the entrance of the mosque and wrote Hebrew slogans on its walls.”
Another resident said the fire was extinguished before it could engulf the entire structure.
An AFP photographer at the scene saw villagers gathering at the mosque to assess the extent of the damage.
Governor Kamil alleged that settlers had previously entered the village “under the protection of the Israeli army,” and that similar acts of vandalism and graffiti had been reported in nearby areas.
The Palestinian foreign ministry in Ramallah condemned the incident, calling it a “blatant act of racism” and a reflection of the ” widespread incitement campaigns against our people carried out by elements of the extremist right-wing ruling government” of Israel.
Israeli police and the domestic Shin Bet security agency described the incident as a matter of “great severity.”
They said they would “act decisively to ensure accountability for those responsible,” adding an investigation was underway, with authorities gathering testimony and evidence from the scene.
Violence in the Israeli-occupied West Bank has intensified since the war in Gaza began on October 7 last year following Hamas’s attack on Israel.
Since the start of the war, at least 803 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
In the same period, Palestinian attacks have claimed the lives of at least 24 Israelis in the West Bank, based on Israeli official data.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.