Israeli settlers torch two mosques in West Bank villages

Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques in separate West Bank villages early Wednesday, according to local officials and military confirmation. The attacks, which included vandalism with hostile graffiti, mark the latest in a surge of violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied territory.

The Israeli military stated that its forces searched the area for suspects and located two burned mosques with graffiti on the walls, but noted the perpetrators had fled before troops arrived. The military did not identify those responsible.

In the village of Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, the head of the village council, Osama Abdullah, said settlers arrived between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. to burn down the main mosque. Finding the door locked, they instead set fire to an ablution room on a lower floor. Abdullah reported that Palestinian civil defense crews and local residents extinguished the blaze. Journalists at the scene observed ceilings, walls, and floors blackened by smoke and flames. Graffiti in Hebrew included the phrases "vengeance" and "hi from the Hilltop Youth," a reference to a group of Israelis in the West Bank regularly accused of violence against Palestinians.