Palestine condemns Israeli illegal settlers’ arson attack on mosque in occupied West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned illegal Israeli settlers’ arson attack on the Bir al-Walidain mosque in the village of Marda in the northern West Bank.

In a statement, the ministry said the attack is a "blatant act of racism" and a direct result of "widespread incitement against the Palestinian people, propagated by key figures within the ruling far-right government" of Israel.

The ministry also noted that the attack is part of a "long history of violations and crimes committed by armed and organized settler militias, officially backed by the (Benjamin) Netanyahu government."

It urged the UN Security Council and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “urgently activate an international protection system for the Palestinian people, immediately halt the Israeli genocide, and enforce binding actions to implement international legal resolutions calling for the end of the occupation of Palestine’s territory.”

The attack occurred earlier Friday when a group of illegal settlers entered the eastern neighborhood of Marda, near Salfit, and set fire to the mosque while also spray painted racist slogans on the mosque’s walls.

Witnesses reported that large parts of the mosque were damaged by the fire before local residents were able to control the flames and extinguish them.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank over Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, where more than 45,200 people, mostly women and children, have been killed.

At least 822 Palestinians have since been killed and around 6,500 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion in July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi