Israeli settlers torch, deface West Bank mosque as Ramadan begins

Israeli settlers set fire to and vandalised a mosque in the occupied West Bank early on Monday, scrawling offensive graffiti and damaging the entrance, according to the Palestinian Authority’s ministry of religious affairs.

The attack targeted the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Tell, near Nablus. Worshippers arriving for the dawn prayer discovered the aftermath: shattered glass, a broken door and smoke still rising from a smouldering blaze that had blackened the ornate doorway and spread soot across the entrance.

“I was shocked when I opened the door,” said Munir Ramdan, a local resident who lives near the mosque. “The fire had been burning here in the area, the glass was broken here, and the door was broken.”

Security camera footage, Ramdan said, shows two individuals approaching the mosque carrying gasoline and a can of spray paint. Minutes later, they are seen fleeing the scene.

The Palestinian religious affairs ministry said settlers vandalised or attacked 45 mosques across the West Bank last year. Monday’s incident took place as Muslims observe the holy month of Ramadan, a period of fasting, prayer and reflection.

“The provocation is directed especially at the person who is fasting, because you are fasting and entering a month of mercy and forgiveness from God,” said Salem Ishtayeh, another resident of Tell. “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.”

Israeli police and military officials said they responded to the scene and were searching for suspects. In a statement, the military said it “strongly condemns” harm done to religious institutions.

Palestinians and human rights groups, however, argue that Israeli authorities rarely prosecute settlers accused of attacks on Palestinian property or places of worship.

The incident comes amid what observers describe as a recent uptick in settler violence in the West Bank. Just last week, settlers killed 19-year-old Palestinian-American Nasrallah Abu Siyam, further intensifying tensions in the territory.

The West Bank has seen a sharp escalation in violence since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023. Israeli military raids, Palestinian militant attacks and settler violence have all increased, creating a volatile environment in which religious sites and civilian communities are frequently caught in the crossfire.

Rights groups say the combination of political impasse, expanding settlements and weak accountability mechanisms has deepened mistrust on the ground, making incidents like the Tell mosque attack both symbolically and practically destabilising.

With AP/PTI inputs