Settlers set fire to two mosques in Tulkarm and Nablus and write racist slogans

Groups of settlers carried out serious attacks targeting places of worship in the Tulkarm and Nablus governorates in the occupied West Bank early Sunday morning. Local sources reported that the first attack targeted the mosque of 'Kour' village, located south of Tulkarm city, where settlers set fire to parts of it before withdrawing from the scene under security protection.

Simultaneously, Al-Rahma Mosque in Qusra town, south of Nablus city, was subjected to a similar and more severe attack, where the raging fire destroyed large parts of the prayer hall and vandalized ablution facilities and main entrances. The attackers did not stop at burning the mosque; they also wrote racist slogans in Hebrew on its outer walls, carrying explicit threats and provocative phrases against Palestinians.

During the attack, Qusra town witnessed additional acts of vandalism targeting citizens' properties, as settlers stormed a number of residential homes, stole personal belongings, and destroyed other contents. These attacks come amid a state of severe tension prevailing in the region as a result of repeated attacks carried out by settlers against Palestinian villages and towns adjacent to settlements.

For its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs warned of the serious repercussions of the continued targeting of mosques, stressing that these crimes fall within a systematic policy of intimidating citizens and attacking their holy sites. The ministry indicated in a statement that it has monitored dozens of similar violations since the beginning of this year, including attempts to burn, desecrate, and repeatedly storm mosques in various governorates of the West Bank.

This field escalation by settlers coincides with a wide-ranging military campaign launched by the Israeli occupation army in the West Bank, which included storming many population centers and carrying out widespread arrests. Observers believe that these coordinated attacks reflect a green light for settlers to exercise more violence against Palestinian civilians and their religious and private properties without legal or security deterrence.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments warns of the escalation of systematic settler attacks on places of worship and holy sites in the West Bank.