Israeli settlers vandalise, set fire to West Bank mosque as IDF chief says ‘will not tolerate’ extremist attacks

IDF condemns Israeli settler violence in West Bank

This was the latest incident of violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, which has spiralled out of control in recent weeks, forcing the Israeli government and the IDF to issue a rare denouncement.

On Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir said he “strongly condemns” the recent attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

According to Zamir, such acts contradict Israel’s values and cross a red line.

“We are aware of the recent violent incidents in which Israeli civilians attacked Palestinians and Israelis. I strongly condemn them. The IDF will not tolerate phenomena of a criminal minority that stains a law-abiding public,” Zamir said in a statement issued by the IDF.

On Wednesday, Maj. Gen Avi Bluth, the chief of the IDF’s Central Command, had also denounced the violence unleashed by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

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.

Attacks by Israeli settlers

On Tuesday, the Palestinian villages of Beit Lid and Deir Sharaf saw a major escalation in violence by masked Israeli settlers who set fire to vehicles and other property.

According to the IDF, the settlers then fled to a nearby industrial zone and attacked soldiers responding to the violence, damaging a military vehicle. Four Israelis were arrested, and four Palestinians were wounded, authorities said.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog described the attacks as “shocking and serious.” Herzog said that the violence committed by a “handful” of perpetrators “crosses a red line,” adding in a social media post that “all state authorities must act decisively to eradicate the phenomenon.”

Status of West Bank

The West Bank was occupied by Israel in 1967, and ever since, it has been administered by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The West Bank is home to some four million people, including around 3.3 million Palestinians and over 700,000 Israeli settlers.

Violence in West Bank

The Israeli settlers, who are often accompanied by the IDF and Police, are accused of harassing and attacking Palestinian villagers. Such acts are frequent during the olive harvest season in the West Bank, which runs from September to November.

Palestinians say the goal of the violence is to push them off their lands. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) 3,535 Palestinians have been displaced by settler violence or access restrictions since 2023.

The current spate of violence by Israeli settlers has invited a rare rebuke by the US, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressing concern over it spilling to Gaza.

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,” Rubio said on Wednesday.