Israeli settlers have carried out almost 3,000 attacks in the occupied West Bank in 2024 [GETTY]
Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank destroyed a mosque in the occupied West Bank after setting fire to it on Sunday.
The settlers poured a flammable substance inside the mosque in the Arab al-Mleihat community, northwest of Jericho, before setting it on fire – Hassan Mleihat, the general supervisor of the local Al-Baydar Organization for the Defense of Bedouin Rights, told Wafa.
“The mosque was completely burned down,” Mleihat said, adding that the settlers also tried to set fire to a tractor in the area.
There are no reports of casualties, but there are concerns over the safety of Palestinian communities in the area.
Religious sites have commonly been targeted by Israeli attacks, with 79 percent of mosques being destroyed in Gaza alone, including the Great Omari Mosque, the largest and oldest mosque in Gaza.
Israeli settlers also frequently storm the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, with Israeli officials allowing over 53,600 settlers to storm the compound in 2024.
Israeli settlers carried out over 2,970 attacks against Palestinians and their property in the region in 2024, killing at least 10 civilians.
Settler violence is also responsible for 12 percent of the 4,700 Palestinians being internally displaced in the West Bank.
Israeli attacks in the occupied West Bank have killed at least 900 Palestinians, injuring almost 6,700 since 7 October 2023.
Following the long-awaited ceasefire in Gaza, Israel has expanded its assault on the West Bank, launching raids and carrying out airstrikes in the region.
The West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been under Israeli occupation since 1967 following the Six Day war, with the Israeli administration building settlements in the territory.
The International Court of Justice deemed Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land illegal and demanded that all existing settlements in the occupied territories be removed.
