Israeli settlers have set fire to a mosque in the West Bank a day after their president condemned a “shocking and serious” attack against Palestinians.
A wall and some of the carpeting at the mosque, in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya, was torched, along with at least three copies of the Quaran.
Settlers had also left graffitied messages, including “we will revenge again” and “keep on condemning”, on one side of the mosque.
The writing, in Hebrew, appeared to reference Major General Avi Bluth, who on Wednesday denounced what he called an “unacceptable situation” in the West Bank.
“The reality in which anarchist fringe youth act violently against innocent civilians and against security forces is unacceptable and is extremely serious,” Mr Bluth, the chief of the military’s Central Command, said.
“It must be dealt with firmly.”
His remarks came after dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf in the West Bank on Tuesday, setting fire to vehicles and other property before clashing with Israeli soldiers.
It was the latest in a string of attacks that have provoked expressions of concern from top officials, military leaders and the Trump administration.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not commented on the surge in violence.
Soldiers from Israel’s military, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, were present at the mosque on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was “some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza”.
Young settlers have launched hundreds of attacks since the war in Gaza erupted two years ago. The attacks have intensified in recent weeks as Palestinians harvest their olive trees in an annual ritual.
October was the month with the highest-ever number of recorded settler attacks in the West Bank since the UN’s humanitarian office began keeping track in 2006, says the office.
President Isaac Herzog described the attacks as “shocking and serious” and said the violence committed by a “handful” of perpetrators “crosses a red line”.
He added in a social media post that “all state authorities must act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon”.
The Israeli army’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, echoed Herzog’s condemnations of the West Bank violence, saying the military “will not tolerate the phenomena of a minority of criminals who tarnish a law-abiding public.”
He said the army is committed to stopping violent acts committed by settlers, which he described as contrary to Israeli values and that “divert the attention of our forces from fulfilling their mission”.
