West Bank Mosque Torched, Vandalized with Hate Speech Following Military Condemnation
A mosque in the West Bank village of al-Mughayyir was set ablaze and defaced with Hebrew graffiti early Friday morning, hours after condemnation from Israeli military leaders regarding escalating settler violence. The attack, which included the torching of vehicles and homes, represents a further surge in tensions and a direct challenge to efforts to de-escalate conflict in the region.
The incident occurred amid a backdrop of record-high settler violence in the West Bank. October marked the highest-ever number of recorded settler attacks since the U.N.Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) began tracking in 2006. palestinians assert the violence aims to displace them from their lands, with OCHA reporting 3,535 Palestinians displaced by settler violence or access restrictions as 2023-a significant increase from previous years.
According to local reports and eyewitness accounts, settlers entered al-Mughayyir overnight, setting fire to the mosque and several Palestinian homes and vehicles. Hebrew slogans and threats were spray-painted on the walls of the mosque and surrounding buildings. Israeli police have launched an investigation, but Palestinians and human rights groups express skepticism, citing a history of limited accountability for settler violence.
The attack follows recent statements from senior Israeli military officials condemning the increasing violence perpetrated by settlers. Despite these condemnations, critics point to a perceived lack of effective action to prevent attacks and hold perpetrators accountable. Approximately 94% of police investigation files into settler violence from 2005 to 2024 ended without indictment, according to monitoring by the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din. Since 2005, only 3% of opened investigation files resulted in full or partial convictions.
The escalating violence is occurring as settlers, emboldened by the current right-wing Israeli government, expand beyond existing settlement boundaries, establishing new outposts-often consisting of rudimentary structures-that encroach upon Palestinian villages and their access to agricultural land and water resources. Key figures within the government, including Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who formulates settlement policy, and Cabinet minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who oversees the nation’s police force, are proponents of the settler movement.
