Israeli settlers have burned two mosques, as well as cars and farmland in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say, as tensions in the territory continue to rise.
The latest attacks come two days after a clash between settlers and Palestinians near the village of Tal, which left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.
Both sides blamed each other for provoking the violence.
The confrontation has further inflamed the situation in the West Bank, which has seen ever-increasing violence by extremist settlers against Palestinians, encouraged by far-right elements within the current Israeli government.
Palestinian reports say two villages in the occupied West Bank were attacked by settlers overnight – with cars vandalized, property stolen and hateful graffiti spray-painted on walls.
The mayor of Qusra said settlers set fire to a mosque under construction.
Abdul Azim Wadi said settlers spray-painted graffiti with the word “revenge” on the walls of the mosque.
The Israeli military said troops had been sent to Qusra and police would investigate and gather evidence.
Palestinian officials say that in another incident, settlers set fire to another mosque in the village of Kour and posted slogans on its walls.
Since Friday’s deadly clashes in Tal, Palestinians say there have been multiple settler attacks on villages in the West Bank.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have carried out raids and arrested dozens of Palestinians in what it calls an “anti-terrorism” operation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Tal’s incident by pledging to take “powerful action.”
This includes the possible demolition of the homes of two of the Palestinians allegedly involved.
There has been a sharp increase in settler attacks in the West Bank in recent months.
This situation has drawn international condemnation, but has shown little or no signs of reversal.
The situation had already deteriorated before the attacks carried out by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023.
But since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, settler violence in the West Bank has intensified.
The UN says 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, the vast majority by the Israeli army. It says at least 35 of the deaths were due to settler attacks.
It says 41 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.
Israel has built hundreds of settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem – land the Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state – during the 1967 Mideast war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. The settlements are illegal under international law.