Two mosques in the occupied West Bank were set ablaze in separate arson attacks earlier this week, with perpetrators leaving graffiti reading “Jewish revenge” at the sites. The Al-Rahma mosque in Qusra, located south of Nablus, and a mosque in Kour village south of Tulkarem sustained significant damage. Palestinian authorities report that at least 45 mosques experienced vandalism or were burned by illegal settlers across the West Bank in 2025 alone.
The incidents represent part of a broader pattern of escalating violence in the territory. A confrontation on Friday in the village of Tal, southwest of Nablus, resulted in multiple deaths when Israeli settlers entered an area from which they are supposed to be restricted. The encounter between armed settlers and unarmed Palestinian residents led to the death of four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers, with additional casualties reported.
Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs indicates 3,033 Israeli settler attacks occurred between January 2025 and June 2026. The Ramallah and el-Bireh governorate recorded the highest number of incidents with 881 attacks, followed by Nablus with 660 and Hebron with 497. Monthly attack rates have increased approximately 24 percent, rising from an average of 153 monthly incidents in 2025 to 190 in the first four months of this year.
Israeli settlements, established on Palestinian-owned land occupied in 1967, currently house between 600,000 and 750,000 Israeli citizens across roughly 250 settlements and outposts in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Recent government actions include approving a land registration plan earlier this year that would enable authorities to seize Palestinian land from owners unable to provide documentation of ownership. Displacement figures show at least 1,988 Palestinians were displaced across the West Bank in the first four months of this year—already exceeding the entire 2025 yearly total by 20 percent.
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