Israeli Settlers Accused Of Burning Mosque In West Bank

[Adelola Malik]

The Palestinian Authority has reported that Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the village of Duma, located south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank. The mosque affected by the incident is the Mohammad Fayyad Mosque. According to reports, the attack happened during the holy month of Ramadan, which is a very sensitive and sacred time for Muslims around the world.

Officials from the Palestinian Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs said the settlers not only set a fire at the mosque but also wrote racist slogans in Hebrew on the walls of the building. The ministry warned that such attacks on religious places could increase during Ramadan and called for urgent attention to protect mosques in the area.

Residents of Duma quickly responded when they saw the fire and were able to control the blaze before it spread throughout the mosque. Because of their fast action, the damage remained limited mainly to the entrance of the building. Local sources reported that if the fire had not been stopped early, the entire mosque could have been destroyed.

The ministry described the repeated attacks on mosques as part of a larger effort to weaken Palestinian communities in the West Bank. In their statement, they said such actions are meant to frighten residents and reduce their sense of security while settlers attempt to gain more control over Palestinian land.

The statement also criticized Israel for closing the gates of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem on February 28. The closure was announced during a state of emergency linked to tensions between Israel and Iran.

This is the second mosque attack reported during Ramadan in the same region. Earlier, the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in Tell village, west of Nablus, was also vandalized. In that incident, offensive phrases were spray-painted on the walls and a fire was started, filling the mosque with smoke and soot. Currently, about 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, alongside nearly 3 million Palestinians.

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