Israeli settlers set fire to the Hajja Hamida Mosque in the Palestinian village of Deir Istiyah near Salfit in the northern West Bank in the early hours of Thursday, local residents told Al Jazeera.
Photos taken at the scene showed racist and anti-Palestinian slogans sprayed on the walls of the fire-damaged mosque. Copies of the Islamic holy book, the Koran, were also burned.
The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs condemned the attack as a “heinous crime” that highlights Israel’s “barbaric” treatment of Muslim and Christian holy sites in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Separately, on Thursday, Israeli forces opened fire during a raid in the town of Beit Ummal near Hebron in the southern West Bank, killing two Palestinian children, Wafa news agency reported.
The violence comes amid a record number of military attacks against Israeli settlers and Palestinians across the West Bank so far this year, with many of the attacks linked to the 2025 olive harvest, Al Jazeera reported.
The United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA) said in its latest update this week that at least 167 attacks on settlers related to the olive harvest have been reported since October 1. More than 150 Palestinians were injured in these attacks, and more than 5,700 trees were also damaged.
Experts say Israeli attacks in the West Bank are increasing in the shadow of Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians in the coastal enclave since October 2023.
MNA