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Two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were set on fire overnight when Israeli settlers attacked them, officials said Sunday, after violence killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.
The violence comes at a time when Palestinians and Israeli opposition groups accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government of turning a blind eye to settler attacks on Palestinians, and threatening to fuel widespread violence across the region.
Israeli soldiers and police appeared in the West Bank after the attack, blocking major roads and blocking the entrance to the hospital where they said the two soldiers were hiding. Israel also arrested more than 70 Palestinians over the weekend as they tried to curb the escalating violence.
The mosques, located in the villages of Qusra and Kour in the north of the West Bank, suffered major damage in the fire. In Qusra, attackers spray painted “revenge Benayahu,” referring to one of the Israeli soldiers killed on Friday, and “the land of Israel was redeemed in blood.” This soldier lived in a nearby area.
Ahmed Abu Mahmoud, 64, who is adjacent to the Qusra mosque, said he heard a noise at 3 am and found out that the mosque had been set on fire. The fire was too big for him to fight alone, so he called for help. Mahmoud said that livestock and a drinking tank were stolen last month, but the Israeli authorities did not help.
“The soldiers came here and saw it with their own eyes and then left,” said Sonto.
Four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers have been killed near a Palestinian village in the West Bank, among a growing toll in recent weeks as Israeli violence against Palestinians has intensified. Local media reported that five Palestinian villages near Nablus were attacked by Israeli settlers on Friday.
Two explosions
Security footage in Kour obtained by the Associated Press showed three people in unusual clothing causing a huge explosion at the mosque’s entrance in the middle of the night.
On Sunday, residents offered prayers despite the damage to the entrance. The Israeli military said it was working with police to investigate the attack on Muslims.
“The security forces strongly condemn such incidents, including damaging religious places, and will continue to take strict measures to maintain security and public order in the area,” he said.
The Israeli army frequently announces investigations into violence against Palestinians, but rarely arrests or prosecutes settlers involved in the violence.
The army also reported that it has closed the homes of two Palestinian soldiers accused of killing soldiers in preparation for their demolition. Israel often demolishes the homes of attackers, claiming that this deters future attacks.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said soldiers entered villages across the West Bank to take weapons and make arrests. “We are also willing to work on a wider scale against terrorist nests,” he said.
Pope Leo called for peace in the Middle East at the end of his weekly Sunday prayer. He called on both sides to find a negotiated solution and “reject new acts of war and joint decisions, especially those that violate the respect and status of the holy places of all religions.”
The exact circumstances are unclear
The exact circumstances of Friday’s killings remain unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials said they erupted after a group of settlers entered the village of Tell and confronted residents who feared an attack.
According to the Israeli military, one of the Palestinians took one of the settlers’ weapons and fired at the group, killing Benayahu Mellet, 32, who was a security guard in a nearby area.
The towns and villages surrounding Nablus occupy one of the most violent areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed Israeli settlers entering villages in the area. It is reported that the theft of livestock, burning and destruction of mosques.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 87 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank this year, including 21 who arrived in Israel. Three Israelis were killed in the attack by Palestinian militants in 2026, including two soldiers on Friday.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and east of Jerusalem, areas captured by Israel in 1967 and claimed by the Palestinians for a future independent state. The international community largely views Israeli settlements as illegal and obstacles to peace.
