TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank set fire to two mosques early Sunday as well as scrawling buildings with graffiti that local Palestinian officials near Nablus said called for "revenge."
"The mosque was in its final stage and was ready to receive worshippers. It had already been furnished with couches. They set it on fire and spray-painted Hebrew slogans on its walls," said Abdel Azim Wadi, head of the village council of Qusra outside Nablus.
The Israeli military confirmed that graffiti and traces of arson were found when they inspected the area.
"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," Israeli military authorities said in a statement.
Separately, Palestinian authorities said Israeli settlers had sought to burn a mosque near Kour and attacked Palestinian laborers at a stone-cutting facility near Ramallah.
A member of the Kour village council said worshippers at the mosque were able to extinguish the mosque fire, which he said had been set by three Israeli settlers. Graffiti in Hebrew was also reported at the site.
Sunday attacks followed clashes that left six dead on Friday
The Sunday attacks are largely believed to have come in response to Friday's clashes that left six people dead.
The Friday incident was sparked by a group of Israeli settlers, some armed, who descended on the Palestinian village of Tell, southwest of Nablus.
When villagers came out of their homes to confront the settlers, shots rang out.
The Israeli military said shots were fired on both sides. Palestinian local authorities say the settlers provoked the violence.
In the end, four Palestinians were left dead as well as two Israeli soldiers, one of whom had been stationed at the site as a security agent.
Israeli security forces launched raids in Nablus on Saturday in response to the incident as part of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's self-described "counter-terrorism" operations.
Dozens of Palestinians were arrested during the raids.
Palestinian authorities in the West Bank condemned the weekend's events as part of "systematic pogroms across the occupied West Bank."
Escalating violence in the occupied West Bank aggravated by illegal settlements
The West Bank, which is seen by Palestinians as the core of a future independent state, has seen a sharp increase in violent clashes between oftentimes armed Israeli settlers and Palestinian civilians since October 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led group attacked Israel, sparking the war in Gaza. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by several countries, including Israel and Germany.
Palestinian authorities say that at least 1,097 Palestinians — both militants and civilians — have been killed by Israeli settlers and security forces since the October 2023 attack.
Israeli figures document the deaths of 48 Israeli civilians and security forces members during that same time.
The Netanyahu government opposes Palestinian statehood and has expedited Israeli settlements in the disputed territory — something that is seen as illegal under international law.
The Netanyahu government cites biblical and historical rights to the land as justification for its approach, with far-right Cabinet members such as Bezalel Smotrich calling for annexation of the land occupied by Israel since 1967.
Some three million Palestinians currently live in the occupied West Bank. More than 500,000 Israelis live in illegal settlements.
On Sunday, Pope Leo XIV voiced deep concern over ongoing West Bank violence, calling for negotiations to reach "a just political solution" and condemning actions "that violate the respect and status quo of the holy sites of every religious faith."
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