TEL AVIV, Israel — Two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were set on fire overnight in an apparent Israeli settler attack, officials said Sunday, after a spate of deadly violence that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.
Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians, which threaten to ignite widespread violence across the territory.
Israeli soldiers and police fanned out across the West Bank after the attack, closing off major roads and blocking access to a hospital where it said two militants were hiding. Israel also arrested more than 70 Palestinians over the weekend as they attempted to contain the escalating violence.
Israel's military says it condemns such incidents
The mosques, in the villages of Qusra and Kour in the northern West Bank, suffered extensive damage in the fires.
In Qusra, the attackers spray-painted “revenge Benayahu,” referring to one of the Israeli soldiers killed on Friday, and “the land of Israel is redeemed with blood.” The soldier lived in a nearby settlement.
Ahmed Abu Mahmoud, 64, who lives next to the Qusra mosque, said he heard noises at 3 a.m. and discovered the mosque had been set on fire. The fire was too large for him to fight on his own, so he called for help.
“The military arrived here, saw with their own eyes and then left,” Mahmoud said.
Security footage in Kour obtained by The Associated Press showed three people dressed in civilian clothes setting off a large explosion in the entrance of the mosque in the middle of the night.
On Sunday, residents held prayers despite damage to the entrance.
Israel's military said it was working with police to investigate the mosque attack.
“The security forces strongly condemn incidents of this kind, including harm to religious sites, and will continue to act decisively to maintain security and public order in the area,” it said.
The Israeli army often announces investigations into violence against Palestinians but rarely makes arrests or prosecutes settlers involved in violence.
The military also reported it had sealed the homes of two Palestinian militants suspected of killing the soldiers in preparation for their demolition. Israel often demolishes the homes of attackers, claiming it deters future attacks.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said troops entered villages across the West Bank to seize weapons and make arrests. “We are also prepared to operate on a broader scale against the terrorist nests,” he said.
The exact circumstances of Friday’s deadly incidents remained unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials said they were sparked after a group of settlers entered the village of Tell and were confronted by residents who were fearful of an attack.
According to the Israeli military, one of the Palestinians took one of the settlers’ weapons and fired on the group, killing Benayahu Mellet, 32, a security guard from a nearby settlement.
Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed Israeli settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported.
Leaders appeal for peace and pressure on Israel
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy urged U.S. President Donald Trump to restrain "the Israeli government's extremist ambitions," including its implementing of a "de facto annexation in the West Bank."
He called on Trump to confront Netanyahu ahead of their meeting in the United States this week.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent letters to Arab and other allies, including the European Union, urging them to pressure Israel to stop settler violence in the West Bank, which he described as a systemic Israeli policy and a dangerous escalation, the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. The Palestinian Authority is the internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people.
Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace in the Middle East at the end of his weekly Sunday prayer, saying that “I am following with apprehension the persistence and escalation of violence in the Holy Land, of which recently many civilians in the West Bank and Gaza have also been victims.”
He appealed for a “return to negotiating a just political solution.”
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 87 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank this year, including 21 by Israeli settlers. Three Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinian militants in 2026, including the two soldiers on Friday.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future independent state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlements be illegal and obstacles to peace.
___
Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this report.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
