Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank and defaced its walls with hateful, racist slogans such as “Revenge” and “Death to Arabs” in Hebrew. The incident occurred early on Friday morning at the Bar al-Walidain mosque in Marda village.
Abdallah Kamil, the governor of Salfit, confirmed the assault, describing it as a targeted attack by a group of settlers. Local residents reported that the settlers set fire to the mosqueβs entrance and sprayed Hebrew slogans on its walls, though the fire was put out before significant damage occurred.
Nasfat al-Khufash, the head of the Marda village council, condemned the attack, calling it “systematic terrorism” by the settlers.
Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank are deemed illegal under international law, including by the United Nations. Governor Kamil pointed out that settlers had previously entered the village with the protection of the Israeli army and that similar vandalism had been seen in nearby areas.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the attack as a “blatant act of racism” and linked it to the incitement campaigns led by Israel’s extremist right-wing government.
In response, Israeli police and Shin Bet issued a statement calling the attack “extremely serious” and vowed to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Settler violence in the West Bank has escalated since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023. By October 2024, over 1,400 settler attacks had been reported, and at least 803 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces or settlers since the war began.
