Palestine condemns 'barbarity' after settlers torch West Bank mosque

2026-02-23 - 11:22

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned Monday the torching of parts of a mosque in the West Bank city of Nablus by illegal Israeli settlers, describing the attack as a crime reflecting "the barbarity of the Israeli racist incitement machine." Witnesses reported that settlers raided the town of Tal, west of Nablus, early Monday, setting fire to portions of the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque. Details of the Attack The mosque's entrance and façade sustained smoke damage, with attackers spray-painting racist slogans on the outer walls, including the name of the extremist group "Price Tag." The far-right organization, formed in July 2008, pursues a strategy of seizing occupied lands, terrorizing Palestinian communities, and obstructing resistance to Israel's decades-long occupation. The ministry condemned the attack as "a blatant attack on Muslims and their sentiments" that "clearly demonstrates the barbarity that the Israeli racist incitement machine has reached toward Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine." Pattern of Attacks According to ministry figures, illegal settlers attacked 45 mosques last year, operating under Israeli military protection. The statement emphasized that "repeated attacks on holy sites, including arson, closure, and preventing the call to prayer are nothing but evidence of the fierce barbarity from which the occupation acts." The ministry asserted that such crimes violate religious laws and international regulations guaranteeing freedom of worship. Broader Context of Violence Approximately 770,000 illegal Israeli settlers live in hundreds of settlements and outposts across the occupied West Bank, including 250,000 in East Jerusalem, with daily attacks aimed at forcibly displacing Palestinian residents. Since Israel's genocidal war in Gaza began in October 2023, settler and military violence in the West Bank has intensified dramatically, with Palestinians viewing the escalation—including killings, arrests, displacement, and settlement expansion—as paving the way for formal annexation. According to Palestinian figures, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,117 Palestinians in the West Bank since October 2023, injured approximately 11,500, and arrested around 22,000. The International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation illegal in July 2024, calling for evacuation of all settlements.