Osama Abdullah, head of the village council in Jiljiliya, north of Ramallah, said settlers targeted the village’s main mosque during the early hours of the morning, causing damage to an ablution facility and leaving hostile graffiti on the structure.

“Settlers set fire to the ablution room, caused damage to the village’s main mosque, and scrawled hostile slogans on the outer walls,” Abdullah told AFP.

Journalists who visited the site observed extensive smoke and fire damage inside the mosque. The ceiling, walls and flooring were blackened, while Hebrew-language graffiti was visible on exterior surfaces.

Among the inscriptions were slogans reading “vengeance” and “hi from the Hilltop Youth,” a reference to a loosely organized group of Israeli settlers frequently accused by Palestinians and rights organizations of carrying out attacks against Palestinian communities in the West Bank.

According to Abdullah, the attackers arrived between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. and were unable to enter the mosque because its doors were locked. He said they subsequently set fire to a lower-level room used for ablutions before leaving the area.

The blaze was extinguished by Palestinian civil defense teams with assistance from residents of Jiljiliya and neighboring villages, he added.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding the incident.

The attack comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions and increasing reports of settler violence in the West Bank since the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023. Palestinian officials and international organizations have repeatedly raised concerns over attacks targeting homes, agricultural land, vehicles and religious sites.

The United Nations has recently warned that violence involving Israeli settlers has reached record levels, reporting an average of six incidents per day resulting in casualties, property damage or both.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967. The territory is home to approximately three million Palestinians as well as more than 500,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements outside East Jerusalem.

Most of the international community considers Israeli settlements in the West Bank illegal under international law, a position rejected by successive Israeli governments.

Settlement expansion and settler-related violence have become increasingly contentious issues under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which includes several ministers who openly support settlement growth.

Residents of Jiljiliya said the attack has heightened fears within the community, while local leaders called for accountability and protection of religious sites from further violence.

No arrests were immediately reported.

The findings were released by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry, which was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international law in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

In its latest report, the commission said civilians in Gaza are caught between what it described as the structural violence and mass atrocities committed by Israeli forces and the coercive rule exercised by Hamas. The investigators said Palestinian residents have faced severe hardships from both the ongoing conflict and governance practices within the territory.

The report also focused extensively on the occupied West Bank, where violence has intensified since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said violence carried out by Israeli settlers was enabled by policies that support and protect settlement expansion. He also accused Hamas-affiliated forces of exploiting conditions created by prolonged conflict and destruction in Gaza.

The commission stated that, despite differing motivations and actors, Palestinian civilians have experienced a deliberate infliction of suffering in both Gaza and the West Bank.

According to the report, at least 26 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,570 injured in settler-related attacks between January 2023 and December 2025. Investigators said such incidents have continued on a near-daily basis in 2026.

The inquiry further concluded that Israeli authorities bear responsibility for facilitating conditions that allow settler violence to persist. It argued that settlement activity and related violence contribute to the expansion of Israeli control over Palestinian territory and the displacement of Palestinian communities.

The report called on Israel to immediately halt settlement expansion, end new settlement activities and remove existing settlers and settlements from occupied Palestinian territory. It also urged Israel to end what it described as the unlawful occupation of Palestinian land.

The commission examined abuses attributed to Hamas-affiliated forces and found evidence of serious violations, including alleged war crimes involving murder and torture. Investigators documented 249 incidents involving executions or severe physical violence during 2024 and 2025, resulting in at least 108 deaths and 384 injuries.

According to the report, Hamas-linked forces were involved in at least 60 of those incidents. Investigators also alleged that Palestinian civilians were tortured inside the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza.

The commission emphasized that such actions do not negate the protected status of medical facilities under international humanitarian law.

The report recommended that Gaza’s de facto authorities immediately cease all extrajudicial punishments, including executions, torture and other forms of physical, psychological and sexual violence. It also called on authorities to refrain from using civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, for purposes incompatible with their humanitarian functions.

The findings are scheduled to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council next week. Israel has previously rejected the commission’s conclusions and accused it of systematic bias against the country.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Kallas said member states were close to reaching political agreement on the measures after months of internal deadlock.

“I expect political agreement on the sanctions on violent settlers, hopefully we will get there,” Kallas told reporters.

EU officials said the sanctions package would target seven Israeli settlers or settler-linked organizations accused of involvement in attacks and intimidation against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. The bloc is also expected to impose sanctions on representatives linked to Hamas.

Diplomatic momentum for the sanctions increased after the departure of former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban, whose government had repeatedly blocked consensus on punitive measures against Israeli settlers.

Officials said the political shift in Hungary following the rise of nationalist rival Peter Magyar had effectively removed Budapest’s veto threat, allowing negotiations to advance.

Violence in the West Bank has escalated sharply since the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, with near-daily clashes involving Israeli troops, settlers and Palestinians.

Palestinian officials and the United Nations have reported a further increase in settler attacks since the start of the regional conflict involving Iran and Israel earlier this year.

Human rights organizations and several European governments have accused extremist settlers of carrying out assaults, property destruction and intimidation campaigns against Palestinian communities, particularly in rural areas vulnerable to displacement.

Despite movement on settler sanctions, EU member states remain divided over broader punitive measures against Israel, including proposals to reassess trade relations or suspend cooperation agreements.
Several European capitals continue to argue that stronger action is needed to curb settlement expansion and prevent further destabilization in the occupied territories, while others remain cautious about increasing pressure on Israel amid ongoing regional conflict.

The sanctions discussion comes as international concern grows over deteriorating security conditions in the West Bank and the risk of a wider regional escalation involving Iran-backed armed groups and Israeli forces.