Settlers set fire to West Bank mosque

Israeli settlers set a mosque in the occupied West Bank town of Aqraba, north of Nablus, on fire and sprayed graffiti on it on 12 April 2018 [Rmix]

Israeli settlers set a mosque in the occupied West Bank town of Aqraba, north of Nablus, on fire and sprayed graffiti on the walls 12 April 2018 [Rmix]

Israeli settlers set a mosque in the occupied West Bank town of Aqraba, north of Nablus, on fire and sprayed graffiti on it on 12 April 2018 [Rmix]

Israeli settlers set a mosque in the occupied West Bank town of Aqraba, north of Nablus, on fire and sprayed graffiti on it on 12 April 2018 [Rmix]

Israeli settlers set a mosque in the occupied West Bank town of Aqraba, north of Nablus, on fire and sprayed graffiti on it on 12 April 2018 [Rmix]

Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque in the Aqraba village in eastern Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank, before dawn today.

Local activist Youssef Deiriyeh told Ma’an that surveillance cameras showed two masked figures wearing backpacks entering the Sheikh Saadeh mosque in western Aqraba at 2am local time (00:00 GMT).

The two masked figures poured flammable materials at the building’s entrance and set it on fire before fleeing the scene.

Pictures of the aftermath showed fire and smoke damage to the front of the mosque, as well as the words “death” and “price tag” spray painted onto the outside walls of the mosque.

No one was injured as a result of the attack.

Read: Israeli settlers target Palestinian cars in racist ‘price tag’ attack

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, highlighting that Israeli settlers have repeatedly torched mosques and churches across the occupied Palestinian territories, and that “such serious crimes are committed by terrorist settlers under the Israeli forces’ nose and protection.”

He stressed that his office would approach all relevant international institutions to ensure these “terrorists” are punished and protection is provided to the Palestinian people and religious sites.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Minister of Endowment and Religious Affairs, Sheikh Youssef Ideis, condemned the incident stressing that “such acts are terrorist acts,” which he said “are driven by organised Israeli incitement against the Palestinian people.”