NABLUS / West Bank /PNN 

Extremist Israeli settlers set fire early Monday to a mosque west of the northern West Bank city of Nablus and spray-painted racist graffiti on its walls, in what Palestinian officials said was part of a pattern of attacks carried out under the protection of Israeli forces.

Local sources said settlers poured flammable materials at the entrance of the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque, located between the towns of Sura and Tal, and set it ablaze. Racist slogans targeting Arabs and Muslims were also scrawled on the building’s exterior walls.

The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned the attack, describing it as part of escalating assaults on Islamic holy sites and civilian property. In a statement issued Monday, the ministry said settlers had attacked 45 mosques in 2025, accusing Israeli authorities of providing protection for those responsible.

The ministry said the arson reflected what it called growing incitement against Islamic and Christian holy sites in the Palestinian territories and described the incident as a “blatant assault” on Muslims and their religious sentiments. It added that repeated attacks — including arson, closures of places of worship and restrictions on the call to prayer — violate international laws guaranteeing freedom of worship.

In a separate incident early Monday, settlers cut down 21 olive trees in the village of al-Mughayyir, east of Ramallah, according to local sources. The trees, more than 50 years old, belonged to a resident of the neighboring village of Abu Falah. The settlers reportedly entered the Marj Si’ plain area west of al-Mughayyir before leaving the scene.

Further south, in the Hebron area, settlers entered a home Sunday evening in Khirbet al-Halawa in the Masafer Yatta region, south of Hebron, local sources said. The assailants allegedly vandalized and stole solar panels used to supply electricity to the residence of Ahmad Ismail al-Amour and assaulted members of his family.

Additional damage was reported in nearby Khirbet al-Rakeez, where settlers destroyed fencing and stone terraces belonging to another resident, Saeed al-Amour.

Communities in Masafer Yatta have experienced a rise in settler-related violence in recent years, affecting homes, agricultural lands and infrastructure, amid calls from residents for greater protection and an end to the attacks.

Meanwhile, settlers renewed incursions into the compound of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City under Israeli police protection, witnesses said. They reported that groups performed religious rituals in the courtyard during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Palestinians in Jerusalem frequently report restrictions on access to the site and confrontations during such visits.

In another incident, settlers entered a Bedouin community near al-Eizariya, east of Jerusalem, moving between homes and photographing young residents, according to local sources.

Late Sunday, armed settlers also fenced off tracts of agricultural land in the town of Ni’lin, west of Ramallah, in the Jabal al-Alam area, residents said. A small agricultural outpost was established on the hill about a year and a half ago, and the area has since seen repeated confrontations, they added.