6 settlers indicted on terror charges for arson attack on West Bank mosque with people inside

5 minors and an 18-year-old accused of arriving in Deir Dibwan earlier this month wearing face coverings and carrying knives, tear gas, gloves and combustible material

By Charlie Summers 26 June 2026, 9:08 pm
Fires blaze around the Palestinian town of Deir Dibwan following an arson attack by settlers targeting farmland and vehicles in the Ramallah area, on June 14, 2026. (Screenshots/X, used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Six teenagers accused of participating in a settler attack on a West Bank Palestinian village were indicted on terror charges Friday over a number of attacks, including allegedly setting fire to a mosque while worshippers were inside.

The defendants, five minors and an 18-year-old, are accused of joining up with other extremists on June 14 to commit a “string of violent acts, arson and harm to property and human life out of a nationalist motive,” police said in a statement.

According to the prosecutors, the group arrived at the village of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, wearing face coverings and carrying knives, tear gas, gloves, and combustible material.

There, the defendants allegedly set a fire at the entrance to the village’s local mosque during prayer, using a flammable substance that injured one worshiper’s eye when an assailant sprayed it at him.

The assailants also targeted private homes, setting a family’s porch ablaze while they were inside, and torched five vehicles in the town, police said.

The group is also accused of setting fire to agricultural land surrounding the community.

The defendants were charged in the Jerusalem District Court for a number of violent offenses, including rioting, arson under terrorist circumstances, racially-motivated property damage, and racially-motivated assault.

Footage from the incident appeared to show extensive damage to the mosque, but there were no reports of injuries as a result of the blaze.

Police said the indictment was the 51st this year “against individuals involved in extreme violence.” However, given the frequency of attacks, arrests are relatively rare, and prosecutions are even less common.

Since Hamas’s October 7, 2023, onslaught, violence by settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank has surged to record levels.

Critics have accused the Israeli government and law enforcement of turning a blind eye to violent attacks by settler extremists, which have become increasingly deadly in recent years and have surged, occurring on a near-daily basis.

Activists say extreme, and often violent, settler activism often takes place with the protection, cooperation and sometimes active participation of IDF soldiers of different types.

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