Israeli occupation settlers torch mosque, West Bank faces attacks on holy sites

RAMALLAH, Nov 13 (KUNA) -- A group of Israeli settlers on Thursday set fire to a mosque located between the towns of Kifl Haris and Deir Istiya in the Salfit Governorate of the West Bank, part of a recent wave of escalating attacks on Palestinian religious sites.
The Palestinian Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs condemned the arson, describing it as evidence of the aggression reached by the Israeli occupation racist incitement against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine.
The ministry warned that repeated assaults-including arson, closures, and preventing the call to prayer-violate all international laws guaranteeing freedom of worship. It called on international Islamic organizations, including the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Arab states, to act to end these attacks.
Eyewitnesses reported that settlers also vandalized the mosque by writing racist slogans on its walls. The incident followed an earlier settler attack on the town of Sinjil north of Ramallah, during which a Palestinian man was shot in the foot while defending the community. Sinjil's mayor, Moataz Abdulrahman, described the night as "difficult" due to gunfire from dozens of settlers.
Settler violence in the West Bank has surged recently, particularly during the olive harvest season, with attacks on farmers, international volunteers, journalists, and emergency crews, often with the support of the Israeli occupation army.
The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor described the wave of violence as a "systematic policy" aimed at consolidating Israeli control, accelerating settlement expansion, confiscating land, and forcibly displacing Palestinian residents.
The organization documented 324 settler attacks over 39 days, including physical assaults, theft of olive harvests, destruction of trees, and denial of access to farmland. In the current olive harvest season alone, 163 attacks have injured more than 143 Palestinians and destroyed over 4,200 trees across 77 villages.
The Monitor noted that armed settler groups operate from illegal settlements and outposts in coordination with the Israeli army, targeting homes, vehicles, and civilians in a pattern described as "organized armed violence" to intimidate residents and establish new settlement outposts on Palestinian land. (end) nq.dss