Israeli settlers vandalize West Bank mosque 

JERUSALEM — Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the occupied West Bank, marking the latest incident in a wave of Israeli violence against Palestinians in the territory during the holy month of Ramadan, the Wafa news agency reported on Monday.Wafa said the settlers graffitied racist slogans on the walls of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq Mosque, located between the towns of Sarra and Tal, near Nablus in the north of the West Bank.Worshippers arriving for the day’s first prayers found the damage and a smouldering fire that spewed black smoke across the mosque’s entrance and stained the ornate doorway, according to the Associated Press news agency.Security camera footage showed two people walking toward the mosque carrying gasoline or petrol and a can of spray paint, and running away a few minutes later.The attackers spray-painted graffiti denigrating the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upn him), as well as the words used to describe attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property.A resident told AP that the Israeli settlers’ assault on the local mosque was “directed especially” at Palestinians who are fasting during Ramadan.“So they like to provoke you with words. It’s not that they are attacking you personally, they are attacking your religion, the Islamic faith,” he said.The assault comes amid a wave of intensified Israeli settler and military violence across the West Bank in the shadow of Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.At least 1,094 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began in October 2023, according to the latest United Nations figures.Last week, the UN Human Rights Council warned in a new report (PDF) that Israeli policies in the West Bank aim to uproot Palestinian communities.“These violations, together with pervasive and growing settler violence committed with impunity, are fundamental to the coercive environment that induces forced displacement and forcible transfer, which is a war crime,” the report said.It added that these policies are aimed at “altering the character, status and demographic composition of the occupied West Bank, raising serious concerns of ethnic cleansing”.According to the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Religious Affairs, settlers vandalized or attacked 45 mosques in the West Bank last year.The Israeli military and police said they responded to the latest incident and were searching for suspects.But human rights groups say the Israeli authorities have allowed the settlers to operate with total impunity in their attacks against Palestinians. — Agencies