Israeli settlers torched and defaced a mosque in a Palestinian village in the central West Bank overnight Wednesday, villagers said, scribbling hateful messages in a show of defiance a day after some Israeli leaders condemned a different attack by settlers against Palestinians.

One wall and at least three copies of the Quran and some of the carpeting at the mosque in the Palestinian town of Deir Istiya had been torched when an AP reporter visited on Thursday.

On one side of the mosque, the assailants had left graffitied messages of defiance like “We are not afraid of Avi Bluth,” “We will take revenge again,” and “Keep on condemning.” The Hebrew scrawl, difficult to make out, appeared to reference IDF Central Command chief Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, who issued a rare denunciation of the violence on Wednesday, as did other army leaders.

Soldiers from the IDF, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, were present at the scene.

It was the latest in a string of attacks that have provoked expressions of concern from top officials, military leaders and US President Donald Trump’s administration.

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was “some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we’re doing in Gaza.”

Israeli officials have sought to cast settler violence as the work of a few extremists. But Palestinians and rights groups say the violence is widespread and carried out by settlers across the territory, with impunity from Israel’s far-right government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin........

© The Times of Israel