NABLUS, April 13, 2018 (WAFA) – Suspected Israeli settlers early Friday vandalized and attempted to torch a mosque in Aqraba village, south of Nablus, said a local activist.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activities in the northern West Bank, said that suspected Israeli settlers poured flammable materials at the entrance to Sheikh Sa‘adeh Mosque and spray-painted racist graffiti on its walls.

A viral security camera footage showed two masked figures arrive with backpacks, pour flammable material at the building’s entrance and set it on fire before fleeing the scene.

Pictures of the aftermath showed apparent fire and smoke damage to the front door. No one was hurt in the attack though.

The words “Death” and “price tag” were spray-painted onto the mosque external walls in Hebrew. The attack reportedly took place at roughly 2:00 AM.

“Price tag” refers to an underground anti-Palestinian Israeli group that routinely attacks Palestinians in the occupied territories and inside Israel.

The Israeli government still refuses to label it as a terrorist organization and considers it only as group of vandals. It also considers such acts as hate crimes against Palestinians.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Settlers‘ violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law.

All settlements across the West Bank are illegal under international law, particularly article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which establishes that the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.

K.F.