A group of Jewish settlers in the West Bank set fire to and vandalized a Palestinian mosque near Salfit, north of Ramallah, late on Wednesday night.
Graffiti containing racist remarks was found on the walls of the mosque, which included messages to IDF Central Command Chief Avi Bluth, who referred to Jewish violence against Palestinians as terrorism.
The graffiti read, “Not afraid of Avi Bluth.” Other messages read, “Keep condemning,” “He will repay His enemies,” and “Muhammad is a pig.”
No injuries were reported from the Wednesday night incident.
The attack comes amid a series of such incidents perpetrated by Israeli extremists, adding to the rise in attacks during this year’s olive harvest, which began three weeks ago.
Security officials told Israeli media they are limited in how they are able to act against the rioters due to political policies.
'The ground is burning'
Peace Now, a nonprofit Israeli organization that advocates for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, made a statement on the Wednesday night arson attack.
“The ground is burning. This is the time to wake up and look reality in the eye. This is no longer a matter of a minority or a few bad actors,” they said.
“This is a large and organized Jewish terror militia, backed and funded by the government of Israel, carrying out violent and systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestinians as part of a deliberate plan for de facto annexation.
“All heads of the relevant systems must act together to eradicate settler terror and restore security,” Peace Now stated.