Israeli settlers allegedly burned and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank. According to a report by the Associated Press, the vandals burned a wall, at least three copies of the Holy Quran and some carpets in the mosque located in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya.
On one side of the mosque, settlers wrote graffiti on the walls, including: “We are not afraid,” “We will take revenge again,” and “We will continue to condemn.”
The Israeli army condemns the violence of Israeli settlers in the West Bank
It was the latest incident of violence committed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, which has spiraled out of control in recent weeks, forcing the Israeli government and military to issue a rare condemnation.
Israeli Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday that he “strongly condemns” recent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
According to Zamir, such actions contradict Israeli values and cross a red line.
Zamir said in a statement issued by the Israeli army: “We are aware of the recent incidents of violence in which Israeli civilians attacked Palestinians and Israelis. I strongly condemn them. The Israeli army will not tolerate phenomena of a criminal minority that stains the law-abiding public.”
On Wednesday, Major General Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli army’s Central Command, denounced the violence unleashed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it sent forces to investigate the scene of the incident and did not identify any suspects. She said that she was referring the case to the police and the Israeli Security Service.
Israeli settlers attacks
On Tuesday, the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf witnessed a major escalation in violence by masked Israeli settlers who set fire to vehicles and other property.
According to the Israeli army, the settlers then fled to a nearby industrial area and attacked soldiers who responded to the violence, damaging a military vehicle. The authorities said that four Israelis were arrested and four Palestinians were injured.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the attacks as “shocking and dangerous.” Herzog said that the violence committed by a “handful” of perpetrators “crosses the red line,” adding in a post on social media that “all state authorities must act decisively to eliminate this phenomenon.”
Status of the West Bank
Israel occupied the West Bank in 1967, and since then, it has been administered by the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. About four million people live in the West Bank, including about 3.3 million Palestinians and more than 700,000 Israeli settlers.
Violence in the West Bank
Israeli settlers, often accompanied by the Israeli army and police, are accused of harassing and attacking Palestinian villagers. Such actions are repeated during the olive harvest season in the West Bank, which extends from September to November.
Palestinians say the goal of the violence is to expel them from their lands. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 3,535 Palestinians have been displaced due to settler violence or access restrictions since 2023.
The current wave of violence committed by Israeli settlers has drawn a rare rebuke from the United States, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concern about its spillover into Gaza.
Rubio said on Wednesday that there was “some concern about events spilling over into the West Bank and having an impact that could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza.”
(tags for translation)West Bank Mosque
