Palestinian media outlets reported Thursday that settlers graffitied and attempted to set fire overnight to a mosque in the village of Duma, near Nablus in the northern West Bank.

Footage circulating online showed Hebrew graffiti sprayed at the entrance of the mosque reading: “From the Or Nahman synagogue,” a reference to a synagogue that was recently dismantled in an illegal West Bank outpost.

Damage was caused to the entrance to the mosque, and no injuries were reported in the incident.

Israel Police said it opened an investigation into the incident, adding that it “completely condemns these kinds of incidents, including harm to religious sites.” The alleged arson attempt comes as Palestinians and Israeli activists who support them have reported ongoing harassment by extremist settlers in areas around Duma.

The Palestinian Authority Ministry of Religious Endowments and Affairs said in a statement that there is a “systematic increase in attempts to burn mosques in the West Bank during the current month of Ramadan,” according to a report in Wafa, the Palestinian Authority news agency. It said the attacks are an attempt “to seize Palestinian land by undermining the security and resilience of Palestinian citizens in the West Bank.”

The report identified the building as the Mohammad Fayyad Mosque. According to Wafa, local residents were able to contain the fire before it spread to the rest of the building.

عصابات المستعمرين يحرقون مسجدا في قرية #دوما جنوب شرق #نابلس وكتابة شعارات متطرفة على جدرانه pic.twitter.com/iEzL35cwrk — زاهر ابو حسين (@ZAHERABUHUSIEN) March 12, 2026

عصابات المستعمرين يحرقون مسجدا في قرية #دوما جنوب شرق #نابلس وكتابة شعارات متطرفة على جدرانه pic.twitter.com/iEzL35cwrk

— زاهر ابو حسين (@ZAHERABUHUSIEN) March 12, 2026

The vandalism came after Israeli authorities dismantled a synagogue that had been set up in the Or Nachman outpost overnight Tuesday.

According to the Kan public broadcaster, the graffiti referenced that incident. The outpost is named after Nachman Mordoff, an Israeli teenager who was among four people killed in a June 2023 terror attack in the West Bank.

Prosecutions in the spate of near-daily settler attacks in the West Bank are rare, and convictions are even rarer. Critics have accused the government, said to be the most right-wing in Israel’s history, of shrugging off the attacks. The police force is under the authority of National Security Minister Itama Ben Gvir, a far-right politician.

Settler violence has risen sharply since the Hamas-led onslaught of October 7, 2023, in southern Israel, according to the United Nations. And Israeli human rights group Yesh Din has reported a spike in settler violence amid the war in Iran that began on February 28, with some 50 incidents recorded in the first four days of the conflict.

Five Palestinians have been killed by settlers this year, and 41 since the October 7 attack, according to Wafa.

Data published by the IDF and Shin Bet security agency in January showed a 27 percent rise in settler attacks in 2025 compared to the previous year.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 In biggest exit in Israeli history, Google completes $32 billion deal to buy Wiz

2 FBI said to warn California that Iran could launch drones from boat at West Coast

3 Hezbollah fires 200 rockets at north, Iran launches missiles in ‘integrated operation’

4 Op-edSeeking clarity, and safety, in a war marked by incoherent leadership and a momentous goal

5 Trump: War to end soon, ‘practically nothing left to target’; Israel: No ‘time limit’

6 IDF says dozens of sites struck in Tehran as it moves to ‘deepen the blow’ against regime

7 Spain permanently withdraws ambassador to Israel as rift deepens

8 400 million barrels to be released from oil reserves as Iran effectively blocks Strait of Hormuz

© The Times of Israel