2 mosques in the West Bank are set on fire during a deadly surge in
settler violence
[July 27, 2026]
By MELANIE LIDMAN
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank
were set on fire overnight in an apparent Israeli settler attack,
officials said Sunday, after a spate of deadly violence that killed four
Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers.
Palestinians and the Israeli opposition accuse Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s hard-line government of turning a blind eye to attacks by
settlers against Palestinians, which threaten to ignite widespread
violence across the territory.
Israeli soldiers and police fanned out across the West Bank after the
attack, closing off major roads and blocking access to a hospital where
it said two militants were hiding. Israel also arrested more than 70
Palestinians over the weekend as they attempted to contain the
escalating violence.
Israel's military says it condemns such incidents
The mosques, in the villages of Qusra and Kour in the northern West
Bank, suffered extensive damage in the fires.
In Qusra, the attackers spray-painted “revenge Benayahu,” referring to
one of the Israeli soldiers killed on Friday, and “the land of Israel is
redeemed with blood.” The soldier lived in a nearby settlement.
Ahmed Abu Mahmoud, 64, who lives next to the Qusra mosque, said he heard
noises at 3 a.m. and discovered the mosque had been set on fire. The
fire was too large for him to fight on his own, so he called for help.
“The military arrived here, saw with their own eyes and then left,”
Mahmoud said.
Security footage in Kour obtained by The Associated Press showed three
people dressed in civilian clothes setting off a large explosion in the
entrance of the mosque in the middle of the night.
On Sunday, residents held prayers despite damage to the entrance.
Israel's military said it was working with police to investigate the
mosque attack.
“The security forces strongly condemn incidents of this kind, including
harm to religious sites, and will continue to act decisively to maintain
security and public order in the area,” it said.
The Israeli army often announces investigations into violence against
Palestinians but rarely makes arrests or prosecutes settlers involved in
violence.
The military also reported it had sealed the homes of two Palestinian
militants suspected of killing the soldiers in preparation for their
demolition. Israel often demolishes the homes of attackers, claiming it
deters future attacks.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said troops entered villages across the West Bank
to seize weapons and make arrests. “We are also prepared to operate on a
broader scale against the terrorist nests,” he said.
The exact circumstances of Friday’s deadly incidents remained unclear,
but Israeli media reports and interviews with local Palestinian
officials said they were sparked after a group of settlers entered the
village of Tell and were confronted by residents who were fearful of an
attack.
According to the Israeli military, one of the Palestinians took one of
the settlers’ weapons and fired on the group, killing Benayahu Mellet,
32, a security guard from a nearby settlement.
Palestinians and human rights groups have increasingly documented armed
Israeli settlers entering villages in the area. Livestock theft, arson
and the defacement of mosques are routinely reported.
Leaders appeal for peace and pressure on Israel
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy urged U.S. President Donald
Trump to restrain “the Israeli government’s extremist ambitions,”
including its implementing of a “de facto annexation in the West Bank."
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A Palestinian man prays inside a mosque that was burned during an
attack by Israeli settlers early in the morning in the West Bank
village of Qusra, Sunday, July 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
He called on Trump to confront Netanyahu ahead of their meeting in
the United States this week.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sent letters to Arab and other
allies, including the European Union, urging them to pressure Israel
to stop settler violence in the West Bank, which he described as a
systemic Israeli policy and a dangerous escalation, the Palestinian
news agency WAFA reported. The Palestinian Authority is the
internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people.
Pope Leo XIV appealed for peace in the Middle East at the end of his
weekly Sunday prayer, saying that “I am following with apprehension
the persistence and escalation of violence in the Holy Land, of
which recently many civilians in the West Bank and Gaza have also
been victims.”
He appealed for a “return to negotiating a just political solution.”
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, 87 Palestinians have
been killed in the occupied West Bank this year, including 21 by
Israeli settlers. Three Israelis have been killed in attacks by
Palestinian militants in 2026, including the two soldiers on Friday.
More than 700,000 Israeli settlers live in the occupied West Bank
and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in 1967 and
sought by the Palestinians for a future independent state. The
international community overwhelmingly considers Israeli settlements
be illegal and obstacles to peace.
Israel approves immunity for an international force in Gaza
Israel's security cabinet on Sunday took a step toward the
deployment of an international stabilization force in Gaza,
approving granting it immunity under Israeli law, a political source
told the AP.
Israel will also decide which countries will send forces and that
the prime minister, defense minister and foreign minister will
approve them.
So far, the international force is expected to have 200 members from
different countries, including Uganda and Morocco, said the source,
speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision made in a
closed-door meeting.
Israeli forces control well over half of Gaza's territory, which was
largely destroyed in two years of war that followed the Hamas-led
attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. A fragile ceasefire began in
October, but next steps in its implementation — including
reconstruction — have been largely stalled over the issue of Hamas'
disarmament. Israel maintains its forces won't withdraw until Hamas
is disarmed.
Last week, the U.S.-created Board of Peace meant to oversee Gaza's
reconstruction said it was working on a pilot governance and
humanitarian zone in southern Gaza that would be secured by the
international force.
___
Associated Press writer Samy Magdy in Cairo contributed to this
report.
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