Settlers set fire to mosque in West Bank village, IDF dispatches troops - report

Palestinian media reported that settlers set fire to the mosque and spray-painted Hebrew graffiti in the West Bank village of Qusra. No injuries were reported. The vandalism is an apparent reference to Benayahu Mellet, a civilian security squad member from the Havat Gilad settlement who, along with an army commander, was shot and killed in the Palestinian village of Tell on Friday.

The words "Revenge for Benayahu" were spray-painted on the mosque's entrance wall alongside a Star of David, in what is suspected to be a nationalist crime in response to Friday's attack. The arson also follows the arrests of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli forces throughout the West Bank, during a campaign launched also following the shooting in Tell.

The IDF said troops scanned the area for suspects, but they "had fled before their arrival," adding that soldiers also spotted the arson and graffiti. Israel Police officers are set to enter the village with an IDF escort to collect testimony, findings and evidence for the investigation. The army stated it and other security forces "strongly condemn incidents of this kind, including harm to religious institutions, and will continue to act decisively to maintain security and order in the area."

A second mosque in the village of Kur, near Tulkarm, was also set on fire overnight, with Hebrew graffiti reading "Jewish blood is not free." The IDF had not yet commented on that incident.