An Israeli settler arson assault on a mosque within the occupied West Financial institution has drawn worldwide condemnation, as a wave of intensified violence in opposition to Palestinians continues unabated throughout the world.
Israeli settlers set hearth to the Hajja Hamida Mosque within the Palestinian village of Deir Istiya, close to Salfit within the north of the West Financial institution, round daybreak on Thursday, native residents instructed Al Jazeera.
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Pictures taken on the scene confirmed racist, anti-Palestinian slogans sprayed on the partitions of the mosque, which was broken within the blaze. Copies of the Quran – the Islamic holy e-book – had been additionally burned.
The Palestinian Ministry of Non secular Endowments and Affairs condemned what it stated was a “heinous crime” that highlights “the barbarity” with which Israel treats Muslim and Christian holy websites within the occupied Palestinian territory.
Individually, two Palestinian kids had been killed on Thursday when Israeli forces opened hearth throughout a raid within the city of Beit Ummar, close to Hebron within the southern West Financial institution, the Wafa information company reported.
The violence comes amid a record-setting variety of Israeli settler and army assaults on Palestinians throughout the West Financial institution up to now this yr, with lots of the assaults happening within the context of the 2025 olive harvest.
Not less than 167 settler assaults associated to the olive harvest had been reported since October 1, the United Nations’ humanitarian company (OCHA) stated in its newest replace this week. Greater than 150 Palestinians have been injured in these assaults, whereas greater than 5,700 bushes have additionally been broken.
Specialists say Israeli assaults within the West Financial institution have elevated within the shadow of Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed greater than 69,000 Palestinians within the coastal enclave since October 2023.
In addition they come as members of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right authorities are pushing to formally annex the area. Rights teams say Israel already maintains a system of de facto annexation and apartheid within the West Financial institution.
The UN human rights workplace warned in July that the settler violence was being carried out “with the acquiescence, assist, and in some circumstances participation, of Israeli safety forces”.
Settler and military attacks, it stated, “are a part of a broader and coordinated technique of the State of Israel to develop and consolidate annexation of the occupied West Financial institution, whereas reinforcing its system of discrimination, oppression and management over Palestinians there”.
‘Fully unacceptable’
Thursday’s assault on the mosque in Deir Istiya prompted an outpouring of worldwide condemnation.
A spokesman for UN chief Antonio Guterres stated the worldwide physique was “deeply disturbed” by the assault. “Such assaults on locations of worship are fully unacceptable,” Stephane Dujarric instructed reporters throughout a briefing on the UN headquarters in New York.
“We’ve got and can proceed to sentence assaults by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property within the West Financial institution,” Dujarric stated.
“Israel, because the occupying energy, has a duty to guard the civilian inhabitants and be sure that these accountable for these assaults, together with this assault on a mosque and the spray-painting of horrendous language on the mosque, be delivered to account.”
Jordan’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs additionally “strongly condemned” the rise in Israeli settler assaults, in response to a press release shared by the Palestinian information company Wafa.
A Jordan Overseas Ministry spokesman described the violence as “an extension of the Israeli authorities’s extremist insurance policies and inflammatory rhetoric that gasoline violence and extremism in opposition to the Palestinian folks”.
Germany, which has faced criticism for defending Israel amid the Gaza battle, additionally called for a halt to settler violence, saying the “incidents have to be completely investigated and people accountable held accountable”.
The Swiss Overseas Ministry likewise stated current Israeli arson assaults within the West Financial institution “are unacceptable”. “This violence and the continued enlargement of unlawful settlements should cease,” it stated in a press release.
Palestinians have urged world leaders to transcend phrases, nonetheless, and take concrete motion in opposition to Israel amid the wave of violence within the West Financial institution and Gaza Strip, together with by ending weapons transfers to the Israeli army.
In a separate incident final week, Israeli settlers set hearth to a Palestinian residence within the village of Khirbet Abu Falah, close to Ramallah, whereas a household was inside, the UN’s humanitarian workplace reported.
“Because the flames unfold, the household instantly evacuated whereas neighbours and civil defence groups rushed to the scene and managed to extinguish the hearth. The mom sustained a leg fracture whereas operating away from the settlers,” OCHA stated.
