Palestinians say Israeli settlers torch mosque, factory
Israeli settlers allegedly torched a mosque and a dairy factory in the West Bank village of Al-Tuwani, leaving behind Hebrew graffiti. Local officials reported the attack occurred while an Israeli military watchtower was nearby, prompting an ongoing police investigation.
Why it matters
This incident reflects the escalating tensions and violence in the West Bank, highlighting the ongoing conflict between settlers and Palestinian communities.
Israeli settlers set fire overnight to a mosque in a village in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian official said on Sunday (July 19, 2026), as an AFP journalist saw the structure's entrance scorched and Hebrew graffiti sprayed on its walls.
The incident came during a period of increased attacks against Palestinian communities by settlers in the Israeli-occupied West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in 2023.
More than two dozen settlers, some masked, attacked the Al-Taqwa mosque in the village of Al-Tuwani during the night and set it on fire, Mohammed Rabie, head of the village council, told AFP.
The settlers also set fire to two houses and a dairy factory, he said, adding the attackers spray-painted Hebrew graffiti on the walls of the mosque.
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