Israeli settlers have set fire to the Bar al-Walidain mosque in the village of Marda, located in the occupied West Bank, in a disturbing display of violence that included defacing the building’s facade with hateful slogans such as “Revenge” and “Death to Arabs,” all spray-painted in Hebrew.
Abdallah Kamil, the governor of Salfit, confirmed on Friday that the attack took place in the early morning hours. Local residents reported that the settlers targeted the entrance of the mosque, and while the fire was significant, it was extinguished before it could entirely consume the structure.
This was a case of systematic terror carried out by a gang of settlers,” said Nasfat al-Khufash, head of the Marda village council. He confirmed that these attacks were nothing new but rather commonplace.
The Israeli settlements on the West Bank, on Palestinian land, are illegal according to international law, a precept emphasized by the United Nations. Governor Kamil noted that settlers had previously entered Marda under military protection, highlighting a pattern of vandalism and aggressive behavior in surrounding regions.
The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the mosque attack as a “blatant act of racism,” blamed it on continued incitement by elements in the Israeli government.
Israeli police and Shin Bet security services responded in a statement, highlighting how seriously they took the incident and promising to pursue its perpetrators with determination.
Since the beginning of the war in Gaza on October 7, 2023, settler violence has increased, with at least 1,400 reported attacks in the West Bank. The Palestinian Health Ministry has recorded at least 803 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank blamed on Israeli forces or settlers during that time.
