Israeli settler attack on West Bank mosque draws international condemnation

An Israeli settler arson onslaught connected a mosque successful the occupied West Bank has drawn planetary condemnation, arsenic a wave of intensified violence against Palestinians continues unabated crossed the area.

Israeli settlers acceptable occurrence to the Hajja Hamida Mosque successful the Palestinian colony of Deir Istiya, adjacent Salfit successful the northbound of the West Bank, astir dawn connected Thursday, section residents told Al Jazeera.

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Photographs taken astatine the country showed racist, anti-Palestinian slogans sprayed connected the walls of the mosque, which was damaged successful the blaze. Copies of the Quran – the Islamic beatified publication – were besides burned.

The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs condemned what it said was a “heinous crime” that highlights “the barbarity” with which Israel treats Muslim and Christian beatified sites successful the occupied Palestinian territory.

Separately, 2 Palestinian children were killed connected Thursday erstwhile Israeli forces opened occurrence during a raid successful the municipality of Beit Ummar, adjacent Hebron successful the confederate West Bank, the Wafa quality bureau reported.

The unit comes amid a record-setting fig of Israeli settler and subject attacks connected Palestinians crossed the West Bank truthful acold this year, with galore of the assaults taking spot successful the discourse of the 2025 olive harvest.

At slightest 167 settler attacks related to the olive harvest were reported since October 1, the United Nations’ humanitarian bureau (OCHA) said successful its latest update this week. More than 150 Palestinians person been injured successful those assaults, portion much than 5,700 trees person besides been damaged.

Experts accidental Israeli attacks successful the West Bank person accrued successful the shadiness of Israel’s warfare connected Gaza, which has killed much than 69,000 Palestinians successful the coastal enclave since October 2023.

They besides travel arsenic members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right authorities are pushing to formally annex the area. Rights groups accidental Israel already maintains a strategy of de facto annexation and apartheid successful the West Bank.

The UN quality rights bureau warned successful July that the settler unit was being carried retired “with the acquiescence, support, and successful immoderate cases participation, of Israeli information forces”.

Settler and subject attacks, it said, “are portion of a broader and coordinated strategy of the State of Israel to grow and consolidate annexation of the occupied West Bank, portion reinforcing its strategy of discrimination, oppression and power implicit Palestinians there”.

‘Completely unacceptable’

Thursday’s onslaught connected the mosque successful Deir Istiya prompted an outpouring of planetary condemnation.

A spokesperson for UN main Antonio Guterres said the planetary assemblage was “deeply disturbed” by the assault. “Such attacks connected places of worship are wholly unacceptable,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters during a briefing astatine the UN office successful New York.

A Palestinian antheral holds a scorched fragment of a Quran leafage wrong the mosque that was attacked successful Deir Istiya [AFP]

“We person and volition proceed to condemn attacks by Israeli settlers connected Palestinians and their spot successful the West Bank,” Dujarric said.

“Israel, arsenic the occupying power, has a work to support the civilian colonisation and guarantee that those liable for these attacks, including this onslaught connected a mosque and the spray-painting of horrendous connection connected the mosque, beryllium brought to account.”

Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs besides “strongly condemned” the emergence successful Israeli settler attacks, according to a connection shared by the Palestinian quality bureau Wafa.

A Jordan Foreign Ministry spokesperson described the unit arsenic “an hold of the Israeli government’s extremist policies and inflammatory rhetoric that substance unit and extremism against the Palestinian people”.

Germany, which has faced criticism for defending Israel amid the Gaza war, besides called for a halt to settler violence, saying the “incidents indispensable beryllium thoroughly investigated and those liable held accountable”.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry likewise said caller Israeli arson attacks successful the West Bank “are unacceptable”. “This unit and the continued enlargement of amerciable settlements indispensable stop,” it said successful a statement.

Palestinians basal adjacent to scorched copies of the Quran astatine the mosque [AFP]

Palestinians person urged satellite leaders to spell beyond words, however, and instrumentality factual enactment against Israel amid the question of unit successful the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including by ending weapons transfers to the Israeli military.

In a abstracted incidental past week, Israeli settlers acceptable occurrence to a Palestinian location successful the colony of Khirbet Abu Falah, adjacent Ramallah, portion a household was inside, the UN’s humanitarian bureau reported.

“As the flames spread, the household instantly evacuated portion neighbours and civilian defence teams rushed to the country and managed to extinguish the fire. The parent sustained a limb fracture portion moving distant from the settlers,” OCHA said.