Vandals deface, set fire to mosque in West Bank

Israel is investigating after a wall, carpeting and copies of Quran are burned at the site.

- By AREF TUFAHA AND JULIA FRANKEL

THE ATTACK in Deir Istiya occurred after some Israeli leaders decried settler violence against Palestinians.

(MOHAMMAD NAZZL Middle East Images)

A mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank was torched and defaced overnight with hateful messages a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a recent attack by settlers against Palestinians.

One wall, at least three copies of the Quran and some of the carpeting at the mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had been torched, according to an Associated Press reporter who visited the mosque Thursday.

On one side of the mosque, perpetrators had scrawled graffiti, including “we are not afraid,” “we will revenge again,” and “keep on condemning.” The writingin Hebrew was difficult to make out. It appeared to reference Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, the chief of the military's central command, who issued a rare denunciation of the violence Wednesday.

The Israeli military said in a statement that it had sent troops to investigate the scene and hadn't identified any suspects. It said that it was transferring the case to the Israeli police and security agency.

The attack on the mosque was the latest in a string of incidents that have elicited expressions of concern from top officials, military leaders and the Trump administration.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that there was “some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we're doing in Gaza.”