ReutersIsraeli settlers have set fire to two mosques, as well as cars and agricultural land in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say, as tensions in the territory continue to flare.
The latest attacks come two days after a clash between settlers and Palestinians near the village of Tal, which left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.
Both sides accused the other of provoking the violence.
The confrontation has further inflamed the situation in the West Bank, which has seen ever growing violence by extremist settlers against Palestinians, encouraged by far-right elements in the current Israeli government.
The mayor of Qusra said that settlers set fire to a mosque that was under construction.
Abdul Azim Wadi said that settlers spray painted graffiti that included the word, “revenge”, on the walls of the mosque.
The Israeli military has said that troops were sent to Qusra and that police would investigate and collect evidence.
Palestinian officials say that in a separate incident, settlers set fire to another mosque in the village of Kour and sprayed slogans on its walls.
Since the deadly clash on Friday in Tal, Palestinians say that there have been multiple settler attacks on villages across the West Bank.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has carried out raids and arrested dozens of Palestinians in what it’s called a “counter-terrorism” operation.
The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the incident in Tal by vowing to take “powerful action”.
That includes the possible demolition of the homes of two of the Palestinians who were allegedly involved.
There’s been a sharp increase in settler attacks in the West Bank in recent months.
It’s drawn international condemnation, but has shown little or no sign of being reversed.
The situation had already deteriorated before the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.
But since the subsequent war waged by Israel against Hamas in Gaza erupted, settler violence in the West Bank has escalated.
The UN says 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, the vast majority by the IDF. It says at least 35 of the deaths have involved attacks by settlers.
It says 41 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.
Israel has built hundreds of settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem – land Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state – during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. The settlements are illegal under international law.
