Two mosques set on fire in occupied West Bank
Two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were set on fire overnight in an apparent Israeli settler attack, officials said Sunday, July 26, after a spate of deadly violence that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.
The violence comes as Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians, which is threatening to ignite widespread violence across the territory.
Israeli soldiers and police fanned out across the West Bank after the attack, closing off major roads, blocking access to a hospital where it said two militants were hiding. Israel also arrested more than 70 Palestinians over the weekend as they attempted to contain the escalating violence.
The mosques, in the villages of Qusra and Kour in the northern West Bank, suffered extensive damage in the fires.
Security footage in Kour obtained by The Associated Press showed three people dressed in civilian clothes setting off a large explosion in the entrance of the mosque in the middle of the night after spraypainting a message on the wall that read “Jewish blood is not cheap," in Hebrew. On Sunday, residents held prayers despite damage to the entrance. Israel's military said it was working with police to investigate the mosque attack.
“The security forces strongly condemn incidents of this kind, including harm to religious sites, and will continue to act decisively to maintain security and public order in the area,” it said.
The Israeli army often announces investigations into violence against Palestinians, but rarely makes arrests or prosecutes settlers involved in violence.
The exact circumstances of Friday's deadly incidents remained unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials said they were sparked after a group of settlers entered the village of Tell and were confronted by residents who were fearful of an attack.
According to the Israeli military, one of the Palestinians took one of the settlers' weapons and fired on the group, killing Benayahu Mellet, 32, a security guard from a nearby settlement.
The towns and villages surrounding Nablus sit in one of the most violent parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed Israeli settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 87 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank this year, including 21 by Israeli settlers. Three Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinian militants in 2026, including the two soldiers on Friday.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future independent state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlements be illegal and obstacles to peace.
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