Israeli settlers set fire to at least two mosques and launched attacks on several homes across the occupied West Bank early Sunday, Palestinian officials and Reuters confirmed. The arson attacks took place at dawn on July 26 in the villages of Qusra, near Nablus, and Kour, located southeast of Tulkarem. The incidents followed a violent confrontation on Friday, July 24, near the village of Tal, where four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed during a settler incursion. Following the fatal shootout, the Israeli military deployed additional troops across the occupied territory as regional tensions reached a critical threshold.
In the village of Qusra, located southeast of Nablus, local council head Abdel Azim Wadi reported that a group of settlers torched a newly constructed mosque early Sunday morning. The attackers vandalized the structures by spraying Hebrew graffiti on the walls, including phrases such as "Jewish revenge" and the name of one of the Israelis killed near Tal. Wadi told Reuters that the village has faced recurring attacks from nearby illegal settlements since 2011, noting that the frequency and severity of these assaults have intensified significantly since the outbreak of the war in Gaza. Israeli military authorities stated that troops discovered evidence of arson and graffiti at the scene and launched an investigation.
A similar incident unfolded in the village of Kour, where three Israeli settlers attempted to set fire to a local mosque at dawn. According to Farid Jiyousi, a member of the village council, worshippers who had gathered for early morning prayers noticed the flames and managed to extinguish them before the fire reached the main prayer hall. Jiyousi noted that this marked the first direct attack experienced by the village, adding that the perpetrators also sprayed Hebrew slogans on the exterior walls before fleeing. Meanwhile, local media published surveillance video showing settlers torching a Palestinian home in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, before residents controlled the blaze.
The wave of settler violence came in the aftermath of Friday`s confrontation near Tal, adjacent to the illegal settlement outpost of Havat Gilad. Palestinian residents reported that nearly 30 armed settlers entered the village and attempted to break into residential properties, prompting local residents to confront them. During the altercation, settlers opened fire, leading to a shootout in which four Palestinians were killed and several others wounded. Two Israelis, including an off-duty soldier acting as a security coordinator, also lost their lives. In response to the deaths, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed military forces to intensify operations in Palestinian villages, ordering searches, weapon seizures, and widespread arrests.
The vast majority of the international community and United Nations bodies consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under international law. Despite international condemnation, violence perpetrated by settlers against Palestinian communities has escalated sharply in recent months. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that settler rampages often occur under the protection of military forces, with very few perpetrators held accountable. What remains unclear is whether international diplomatic pressure can rein in settler activity as hardline ministers in the Israeli government continue to push for the formal annexation of the occupied West Bank.
