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.