Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques, attack Palestinian villages in West Bank

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank at dawn on Sunday, setting fire to two mosques and writing Hebrew slogans on the walls, according to Palestinian officials.

Sources cited by Reuters said the attacks followed the killing of four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers, one of whom was a local security coordinator, on Friday near the village of Tell, southwest of Nablus, after clashes erupted when settlers approached the village and residents confronted them.

Footage showed a Palestinian seizing a weapon from a settler during the incident.

Palestinian authorities said settlers initiated provocative acts that sparked the violence, while the Israeli military said both sides exchanged gunfire.

According to United Nations and Palestinian Authority statistics, escalating clashes this year have left dozens of Palestinians dead and hundreds wounded.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces elections in October, ordered a large-scale security operation in the West Bank, reinforcing troops and canceling soldiers' leave to counter what he described as terrorism against Israeli civilians.

Several Israeli ministers, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, have called for the annexation of the West Bank, which Israel occupied in 1967.

Abdel Azim Wadi, head of the local council in Qusra, southeast of Nablus, said settlers set fire to a newly built mosque and wrote Hebrew slogans such as "Jewish revenge" and "The Land of Israel will be established with blood, and mosques do not scare us."

He noted that Qusra has faced repeated attacks since 2011, with the number of casualties rising after the recent war.

In the village of Kour, southeast of Tulkarm, local council member Farid Jiyousi said three settlers tried to set fire to the mosque at dawn. Worshippers managed to extinguish the flames before they reached the carpets, and Hebrew slogans were written on the walls.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club reported that Israeli forces detained around 60 Palestinians since Saturday evening as part of a security campaign across the West Bank.

Most countries and United Nations bodies consider Jewish settlements in the West Bank illegal, a position Israel rejects.

Settler attacks on Palestinians have increased since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023, which has killed more than 73,000 people in the enclave, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

On Sunday, the Pope expressed deep concern over the escalating violence, calling for negotiations toward a just political solution and urging respect for holy sites of all religions.