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Israeli settlers torch West Bank mosque, deface walls with racist slogans

The fire was extinguished before it could cause significant damage to the structure

News Desk December 20, 2024

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

Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank and defaced its facade with hateful and racist slogans, including "Revenge" and "Death to Arabs" spray-painted in Hebrew. The attack took place early on Friday morning at the Bar al-Walidain mosque in the village of Marda.

Abdallah Kamil, the governor of Salfit, confirmed the incident, calling it a targeted assault by a group of settlers. "A group of settlers carried out an attack by setting fire to the mosque," Kamil said in a statement.

Local residents reported that the settlers set fire to the entrance of the mosque and wrote Hebrew slogans on its walls. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished before it could cause significant damage to the structure.

Nasfat al-Khufash, head of the Marda village council, described the attack as a "systematic terror attack by a group of settlers" in an interview with Reuters.

Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal by the United Nations and under international law.

Governor Kamil noted 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 surrounding areas.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ramallah condemned the attack as a "blatant act of racism" and a manifestation of the "widespread incitement campaigns" led by Israel's extremist right-wing government.

In response, Israeli police and Shin Bet security services issued a joint statement, calling the attack "extremely serious" and vowing to take decisive action to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Settler violence in the occupied West Bank has surged since the Gaza war began on October 7, 2023. As of October 2024, there have been over 1,400 settler attacks in the West Bank.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 803 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the start of the Gaza war.