Settlers set fire to mosque in West Bank as Israeli forces raid villages
Settlers also attacked a boy in a separate incident in the town of Beita, south of Nablus.
Key points
- Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque, an olive tree and a vehicle in Mikhmas early Wednesday.
- Settlers attacked a Palestinian boy in Beita and Israeli forces arrested three in Qalqilya.
- About 750,000 settlers live illegally in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, Amnesty says.
Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque, an olive tree and a vehicle in the occupied West Bank village of Mikhmas early on Wednesday, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa. Reports online said the settlers spray painted racist slogans on the mosque walls, other buildings and Palestinian homes.
The incident came as Israeli forces continued raids across the territory. Settler attacks have surged since Israel launched its war on Gaza three years ago, and Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have accused the Israeli government of facilitating settler violence to expand control of Palestinian land.
Other attacks and arrests
Elsewhere in the West Bank on Wednesday, settlers attacked a Palestinian boy in the town of Beita, south of Nablus, while Israeli forces arrested three Palestinians after a raid in Qalqilya. Troops also raided the village of Tammun and fired tear gas, according to Quds News Network.
With the olive harvest under way, settlers have been mobilising to intimidate and obstruct Palestinian farmers, who depend on the crop as a key source of revenue.
Pogroms carried out by settlers across the occupied Palestinian territory have surged since Israel launched its genocidal war on Gaza three years ago.
— Al Jazeera
Settler numbers and legality
Amnesty International says about 750,000 settlers live illegally in the occupied West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem. Settlements in occupied territory are illegal under international law.
