Israel investigating suspected settler attack on West Bank mosque
No one was injured in the incident.
Palestinians inspect the damage done to a mosque after a reported attack by Israeli settlers in the West Bank town of Marda on Dec. 20, 2024. (Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
(JTA) — Israeli authorities are investigating after a mosque in the northern West Bank town of Marda was torched and graffitied with Hebrew slogans.
No one was injured in the incident.
Footage from the scene appeared to show burn marks and Hebrew graffiti featuring a Star of David and reading “revenge” and “burn the mosque, build the temple.” Israel’s police and Shin Bet security service have opened an investigation and have not yet made any arrests.
Palestinian leaders accused settlers of the vandalism, and Israeli media are also reporting that Jewish Israelis are suspected of perpetrating the attack.
Human rights groups have reported a spike in settler violence since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, invasion launched Israel’s multi-front war. The Biden administration has sanctioned several extremist settler leaders and groups in that time, though it indicated recently to the Times of Israel that it would not place sanctions on Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two far-right members of the Israeli cabinet.
Over the past year-plus, Israel has engaged in a series of operations in the West Bank to fight cells of terror groups. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed, and thousands arrested, in the territory in that time. Dozens of Israelis have also been killed in terror attacks in the West Bank and Israel since the Oct. 7 attack.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
