Israeli settlers torch West Bank mosque, scrawl hateful messages
DEIR ISTIYA, West Bank
Israeli settlers torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank the previous overnight, scribbling hateful messages in a show of defiance a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a recent attack by settlers against Palestinians.
One wall and at least three copies of the Quran and some of the carpeting at the mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had been torched when an AP reporter visited Thursday.
On one side of the mosque settlers had left graffitied messages like “we are not afraid" and “keep on condemning.” The Hebrew scrawl, difficult to make out, appeared to reference Maj. Gen Avi Bluth, the chief of the military’s Central Command who issued a rare denunciation of the violence on Nov. 12.
It was the latest in a string of attacks that have provoked expressions of concern from top officials, military leaders and the Trump administration.
At a press conference on Nov. 12, U.S. 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.”
The day before, dozens of masked Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf in the West Bank, setting fire to vehicles and other property before clashing with Israeli soldiers.
President Isaac Herzog described the attacks as “shocking and serious,” adding a powerful voice to what has been muted criticism by top Israeli officials of the settler violence. Herzog’s position, while largely ceremonial, is meant to serve as a moral compass and unifying force for the country.
The Israeli army’s chief of staff, Eyal Zamir, echoed his condemnations, saying the military “will not tolerate the phenomena of a minority of criminals who tarnish a law-abiding public.”
