Palestinian authorities have alleged that Israeli settlers set fire to two mosques, several cars and farmland in the occupied West Bank. The incident has further raised tensions in the region. The attack near the West Bank village of Tal came just two days after four Palestinians and two Israelis were killed in clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians.
The BBC reported on Sunday, July 26, that both sides blamed each other for those clashes. Palestinians allege that attacks by extremist Israeli settlers have risen significantly in recent months and that the situation is being complicated further by the support of the far-right section of the Israeli government.
Citing Palestinian officials, it was reported that attacks were carried out overnight in two villages of the occupied West Bank. Several cars were vandalised, property looted and hateful graffiti written on the walls of various buildings.
The mayor of Qusra village said Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque under construction. Mayor Abdul Azim Wadi said slogans including “revenge” had been written on the mosque’s walls.
The Israeli military said troops had been deployed in Qusra and that police would investigate the incident and collect evidence.
Palestinian officials said that in a separate incident another mosque was set on fire in the village of Qur. The attackers left slogans written on this mosque’s walls too.
Palestinians say there have been several attacks by Israeli settlers in various West Bank villages since the casualties in the clashes near Tal village last Friday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF), meanwhile, have conducted operations in the West Bank and arrested dozens of Palestinians. The Israeli military has described these operations as “counter-terrorism operations.”
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to take “strong steps” over the clashes at Tal village. Israeli authorities have also said the homes of two Palestinians accused of involvement in the clashes may be demolished.
Attacks by Israeli settlers in the West Bank have risen sharply in recent months. Although this has drawn strong condemnation and concern internationally, there are few signs of the violence easing.
According to United Nations figures, 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since the Gaza war began, most of them by Israeli forces. At least 35 of them were killed in settler attacks.
Since capturing the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war, Israel has built hundreds of settlements there. About 700,000 Jews live in these settlements. Palestinians have long demanded a future state comprising the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Israeli settlements are considered illegal under international law.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report