Israeli Settlers Torch Mosque in West Bank Village

Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the Palestinian village of Deir Istiya in the central West Bank overnight Wednesday, defacing the building with graffiti that appeared to defy recent condemnations of settler violence by Israeli officials.

When journalists visited the site on Thursday, they observed that one wall of the mosque had been torched, along with at least three copies of the Quran and portions of the carpeting. Settlers had scrawled messages in Hebrew on an exterior wall, including phrases such as "we are not afraid," "we will revenge again," and "keep on condemning." The graffiti seemed to reference Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, head of Israel's Central Command, who had publicly denounced settler attacks the previous day. Israeli soldiers were present at the scene but did not immediately comment.

The incident followed a violent clash on Tuesday in the nearby Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf, where dozens of masked settlers set fire to vehicles, farmland, and other property. Authorities reported that the settlers then fled to an industrial zone and assaulted responding soldiers, damaging a military vehicle. Four Israelis were arrested in connection with...