Mosques in West Bank are set on fire during a weekend of settler violence

2 mosques in the West Bank are set on fire during a deadly surge in settler violence 0 seconds of 1 minute, 7 secondsVolume 0% Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts Keyboard ShortcutsEnabledDisabled Shortcuts Open/Close/ or ? Play/PauseSPACE Increase Volume↑ Decrease Volume↓ Seek Forward→ Seek Backward← Captions On/Offc Fullscreen/Exit Fullscreenf Mute/Unmutem Decrease Caption Size- Increase Caption Size+ or = Seek %0-9 00:00 01:07 01:07 1 of 6 | Israel’s military said it detained over 70 suspects across the occupied West Bank overnight and on Saturday. Palestinians in the village of Qusra claimed a mosque was set on fire by settlers early Sunday, after troops were deployed following violence that left two Israeli soldiers and four Palestinian villagers dead. (AP video: Leo Correa) 2 of 6 | A Palestinian man prays inside a mosque that was burned during an attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) 3 of 6 | Children stand outside a mosque that was burned during an attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026, as on its wall a Hebrew graffiti reads “Revenge Benayahu”, referring to an Israeli settler killed during clashes with Palestinians in the village of Tell, last Friday. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) 4 of 6 | Israeli soldiers operate in the West Bank Palestinians city of Nablus, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammad) 5 of 6 | Israeli soldiers operate in the West Bank Palestinians city of Nablus, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammad) 6 of 6 | Children stand outside a mosque that was burned during an attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026, as on its wall a Hebrew graffiti reads “Revenge Benayahu”, referring to an Israeli settler killed during clashes with Palestinians in the village of Tell, last Friday. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) By MELANIE LIDMAN Updated 5:33 PM MESZ, July 26, 2026 Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank were set on fire overnight in an apparent Israeli settler attack, officials said Sunday, after a spate of deadly violence that killed four Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers. The violence comes as Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s hard-line government of turning a blind eye to attacks by settlers against Palestinians, which is threatening to ignite widespread violence across the territory. Israeli soldiers and police fanned out across the West Bank after the attack, closing off major roads and blocking access to a hospital where it said two militants were hiding. Israel also arrested more than 70 Palestinians over the weekend as they attempted to contain the escalating violence. The mosques, in the villages of Qusra and Kour in the northern West Bank, suffered extensive damage in the fires. In Qusra, the attackers spray-painted “revenge Benayahu,” referring to one of the Israeli soldiers killed on Friday, and “the land of Israel is redeemed with blood.” The soldier lived in a nearby settlement. Ahmed Abu Mahmoud, 64, who lives next door to the Qusra mosque, said he heard noises at 3 a.m. and discovered the mosque had been set on fire. The fire was too large for him to fight on his own, so he called for help. Mahmoud said livestock and a drinking tank had been stolen in the past month, but that Israeli authorities hadn’t helped. “The military arrived here saw with their own eyes and then left,” he said Sunday. Security footage in Kour obtained by The Associated Press showed three people dressed in civilian clothes setting off a large explosion in the entrance of the mosque in the middle of the night. On Sunday, residents held prayers despite damage to the entrance. Northern West Bank in lockdown as clashes rock villages and Israel deploys troops in Nablus 3 MIN READ 13 Israel detains over 70 suspects following deadly violence in the West Bank 5 MIN READ 687 Democratic congressman says he was detained by the Israeli military and settlers in the West Bank 5 MIN READ 687 Israel’s military said it was working with police to investigate the mosque attack. “The security forces strongly condemn incidents of this kind, including harm to religious sites, and will continue to act decisively to maintain security and public order in the area,” it said. The Israeli army often announces investigations into violence against Palestinians, but rarely makes arrests or prosecutes settlers involved in violence. The military also reported it had sealed the homes of two of Palestinian militants suspected of killing the soldiers in preparation for their demolition. Israel often demolishes the homes of attackers, claiming it deters future attacks. On Sunday, Netanyahu said troops entered villages across the West Bank to seize weapons and make arrests. “We are also prepared to operate on a broader scale against the terrorist nests,” he said. Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace in the Middle East at the end of his weekly Sunday prayer. He called on both sides to find a negotiated solution and to “reject new military actions and unilateral decisions, in particular those that violate the respect and status quo of the holy places of every religious faith.” The exact circumstances of Friday’s deadly incidents remained unclear, but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian officials said they were sparked after a group of settlers entered the village of Tell and were confronted by residents who were fearful of an attack. According to the Israeli military, one of the Palestinians took one of the settlers’ weapons and fired on the group, killing Benayahu Mellet, 32, a security guard from a nearby settlement. The towns and villages surrounding Nablus sit in one of the most violent parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed Israeli settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 87 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank this year, including 21 by Israeli settlers. Three Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinian militants in 2026, including the two soldiers on Friday. More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and sought by the Palestinians for a future independent state. The international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlements be illegal and obstacles to peace. MELANIE LIDMAN Lidman is an Associated Press reporter based in Tel Aviv, Israel.