Israeli settlers set fire to the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Mosque in the occupied West Bank on Monday, also spray-painting racist slogans hostile to Arabs and Muslims, according to Israeli and Palestinian sources.

The Israeli military confirmed a fire at the mosque near Tell, with troops dispatched to the scene for review.

Witnesses reported that flammable material was poured at the mosque’s entrance, and racist graffiti was left on its walls.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that phrases like “revenge” and “price tag,” a term linked to nationalist hate crimes, were spray-painted on the mosque.

The rise in settler attacks in the West Bank has been notable in recent months.

Data from Israeli police revealed a sharp increase in nationalist violence, with 54 investigations into such attacks in early January alone, reflecting a 23 per cent year-on-year rise.

The incident comes shortly after the UN Human Rights Office released a report raising concerns about potential ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank.

In another development, Israeli police arrested four teenage boys suspected of planning an attack on soldiers in Karmiel. Authorities said the suspects had received training for the alleged assault.

Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 war, and many in the international community consider Israeli settlements in the occupied territories illegal.

(Xinhua/NAN)