Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in Deir Istiya,a village in central West Bank, damaging parts of the building and burning copies of the Qur’an. Residents said the incident followed a rise in settler violence during the olive harvest season. An AP reporter who visited the mosque on Nov. 13 saw a charred wall, burnt carpet and three damaged copies of the Qur’an.
Graffiti in Hebrew covered one side of the mosque. Messages read we are not afraid, we will take revenge again and keep on condemning. The writing appeared to reference Maj. Gen Avi Bluth, who issued a rare public criticism of settler violence a day earlier. The attack has added to concern over the growing pattern of assaults on Palestinian homes, farms and religious sites.
Israeli soldiers were present at the site. The military did not respond to questions on the attack. Political leaders in Israel have faced pressure to address the rise in settler violence, although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on the latest incident.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said his government is watching the situation closely. He warned that unrest in the West Bank might affect the situation in Gaza. His remarks came amid repeated appeals from rights groups for stronger action to protect Palestinian communities.
Settler attacks have increased over the past two years. October recorded the highest number of incidents since the UN began tracking such data in 2006.