Palestinians return for prayers in West Bank mosque after settler attack

Palestinians in a village in the West Bank held weekly communal prayers on Friday after clearing insulting graffiti, broken glass and burn marks from a mosque they say was targeted by Jewish settlers amid a spike in attacks.

Villagers in Deir Istiya who cleaned up the mosque told Reuters that settlers had smashed windows, sprayed slogans insulting Islam’s Prophet Mohammed and tried to torch the building in an assault on Wednesday night.

Reuters video of the mosque on Thursday showed the graffiti as well as shattered glass, charred internal walls and furniture, and a burnt Koran.

Israel’s military said security forces had arrived at the mosque after hearing reports of the attack, but had not identified or arrested any suspects.

It said in a statement to Reuters that it “condemns any force of violence and will continue to operate to safeguard the security and order in the area.”

Palestinians say Israeli forces do not protect them from settler violence. The Israeli military says soldiers are often dispatched to deal with any trouble.

“We are here for Friday prayer because it’s an Islamic holy site. We want to show Netanyahu and his allies that this mosque was fixed in 24 hours and we will put back the carpets soon,” said worshipper Wadee’ Salman, referring to the Israeli prime minister.