<\/p>\n
Israeli settlers set fire overnight to a mosque in a village in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said Sunday, as an AFP journalist saw the structure\u2019s entrance scorched and Hebrew graffiti sprayed on its walls.<\/p>\n
The incident came during a period of increased attacks against Palestinian communities by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.<\/p>\n
More than two dozen settlers, some masked, attacked the Al-Taqwa mosque in the village of Al-Tuwani during the night and set it on fire, Mohammed Rabie, head of the village council, told AFP.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The settlers also set fire to two houses and a dairy factory, he said, adding the attackers spray-painted Hebrew graffiti on the walls of the mosque.<\/p>\n
Rabie said the settlers fled after villagers emerged from their homes, adding that local volunteers managed to extinguish the flames before they spread further.<\/p>\n
AFP photographs showed a child and an elderly man inspecting the charred entrance and windows of the mosque, where part of a prayer carpet had also been burned.<\/p>\n
Rabie said the dairy factory, run by women from the Masafer Yatta community, suffered extensive damage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thank God that this attack did not turn into a tragedy with loss of life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Israeli police said it deployed officers to the village last night \u201cafter a report of suspects who caused damage at the site, including a vehicle that was set on fire, damage to the door of a prayer structure, and graffiti sprayed on walls.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe investigation into the circumstances of the incident\u2026 is still ongoing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe settlers\u2019 attack took place in full view of the Israeli army,\u201d Palestinian activist Osama Makhamra told AFP, noting that an Israeli military watchtower stands close to the mosque that was set ablaze.<\/p>\n
Rabie, however, said Israeli army, police and fire service personnel arrived in the village about half an hour after the attack and inspected the damage to the mosque and other property.<\/p>\n
The Palestinian religious affairs ministry condemned the attack.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the ministry described the arson as \u201ca full-fledged terrorist act\u201d, accusing Israel\u2019s \u201cextremist occupation government\u201d of encouraging settler violence in an effort to displace Palestinians from Masafer Yatta and turn the conflict into \u201ca religious war\u201d.<\/p>\n
In a recent report, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank had reached \u201cunprecedented\u201d levels, averaging six attacks per day that resulted in casualties or property damage.<\/p>\n
Excluding East Jerusalem, around three million Palestinians live in the occupied West Bank alongside more than 500,000 Israelis residing in settlements that are considered illegal under international law.<\/p>\n
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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