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Israeli Settlers Burn Two West Bank Mosques as Security Forces Detain About 80 Palestinians

The attacks prompted Israeli raids, the sealing of two houses and vows of wider operations that highlight gaps in settler accountability.

Overview

  • Overnight on Sunday, two mosques in the villages of Qusra and Kour in the northern West Bank were set on fire in what officials and witnesses say was an apparent settler attack.
  • Security footage obtained by the Associated Press showed three people in civilian clothing triggering a large explosion at the entrance of the Kour mosque.
  • Israeli forces responded with raids across parts of the West Bank, detaining roughly 80 Palestinians over the weekend and sealing two homes of suspected Palestinian attackers pending demolition.
  • Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said troops entered West Bank villages to seize weapons and said security forces are prepared to operate on a broader scale, while the military said it is investigating and condemned damage to religious sites.
  • Rights groups and Palestinian officials say settler violence in areas around Nablus is recurrent and rarely leads to settler prosecutions, and Palestinian health figures show dozens of West Bank deaths this year linked to such clashes.