Israeli soldier walks past a mosque that was attacked by suspected Jewish extremists on the occupied West Bank. Image by getty images

A mosque in the West Bank near Bethlehem was set on fire and nationalist slogans were painted on its walls.

The attack in the Jaba village occurred early Wednesday morning. A window of the mosque was broken and something burning was thrown inside. Worshippers who arrived at the mosque at 4:30 a.m. saw the flames and put out the fire, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported. The mosques interior walls and furniture were damaged in the attack.

Phrases spray painted on the mosque’s outside walls included “we want the redemption of Zion” and “revenge.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Residents of the village, located close to the Gush Etzion bloc of Jewish settlements, blamed the arson attack on Jewish nationalists.

The attack occurred on the 21st anniversary on the Gregorian calendar of the massacre of 29 Palestinian worshippers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron by Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount