Israeli settlers storm West Bank mosque, assault worshippers

By Awad Rakoob and Mohammad Sio

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - Illegal Israeli settlers stormed a mosque in the northern West Bank during Ramadan prayers Sunday evening, assaulting worshippers and vandalizing its contents.

Thaer Haneni, a local activist present at the mosque during the attack, told Anadolu that the assault targeted the Beit Sheikh Mosque in Khirbet Tana village, east of Beit Furik town.

He described how an unmarked military vehicle carrying four illegal settlers in Israeli military uniforms accompanied by a small cargo vehicle from their settlement’s security arrived at the mosque. The settlers then stormed the mosque.

“They confiscated our IDs and mobile phones, subjected us to detailed searches, and forced us to sit on the ground in the mosque’s courtyard for nearly an hour,” Haneni said.

The illegal settlers then proceeded to damage the mosque’s property, breaking the pulpit and spilling oil, juice and water on the carpets. They also destroyed electrical appliances and lighting inside the mosque.

Haneni also said that Israeli forces had demolished the homes of 40 families in the area, leaving only the mosque and school standing.

He pointed out that illegal settlers from the Mikhora settlement and the Giv'at Ronim outpost along with a pastoral outpost led by illegal settler Itamar Cohen have been regularly attacking the area.

According to data from the Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission, Israeli actions have displaced 29 Palestinian communities consisting of 311 families totaling around 2,000 people from Oct. 7, 2023 to the end of 2024.

In February alone, illegal settlers carried out 230 attacks in the West Bank, the commission said.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank, where at least 930 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the onslaught on the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.