Israeli Settlers Set Fire to a Mosque in the Occupied West Bank

Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the Palestinian village of Mikhmas in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday and spray-painted slogans on its exterior walls. Palestinian sources and the Israeli military confirmed the incident. Atta Kanaan, a resident of Mikhmas, told the French news agency AFP that shortly after midnight on Wednesday, he heard the sound of breaking glass and immediately rushed toward the mosque. His house is located just 50 metres from the building. “There was a major fire inside the mosque, so we alerted the fire brigade. Young men arrived to help us with firefighting equipment. We managed to contain the flames in one section before the fire engulfed the entire mosque,” Kanaan said.

The Israeli military told AFP that troops had been dispatched to Mikhmas following reports that a mosque had been set on fire, slogans had been written on its walls, and a vehicle had been damaged. According to the military, no suspects had been identified, and an investigation into the incident had been launched.  Video footage obtained by AFP showed that the fire had burned the carpets inside the mosque and blackened its walls. An AFP journalist reported that slogans had been spray-painted in Hebrew on the mosque’s exterior walls. One of the slogans read: “Just because we are silent does not mean we are asleep.”

According to Atta Kanaan, the settlers also set a vehicle on fire. He said that in recent weeks, villagers had formed groups to patrol the area at night because they feared settlers might set fire to their homes. Houses on the outskirts of the village were considered particularly vulnerable. Mikhmas is located in the central West Bank, between Ramallah and Jerusalem. Several Israeli settlement outposts are situated nearby, and their residents have reportedly attacked the village’s inhabitants on multiple occasions in recent months. Ruhhi Fattouh, president of the Palestinian National Council, described the arson attack on the mosque as a “barbaric act and a dangerous escalation in settler terrorism.” The Palestinian National Council serves as the parliament of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has increased significantly in recent months. The attacks have included physical assaults, the seizure of land and crops, and vandalism targeting places of worship, homes and other buildings. Approximately three million Palestinians live in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem. Israel has occupied the territory since 1967. More than 500,000 Israelis also live in settlements across the area, which are considered illegal under international law.