UN Secretary-General António Guterres strongly condemned the attack on a mosque in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers, according to a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, during a press conference on Thursday.
“The Secretary-General strongly condemns the attack carried out by Israeli settlers on a mosque in the occupied West Bank,” Dujarric said.
Guterres expressed his deep concern over the arson attack on the mosque in the occupied West Bank by Israelis who had seized Palestinian land.
He stressed that such acts of violence and the desecration of religious sites are “completely unacceptable,” emphasizing that places of worship must always be respected and protected, Dujarric added.
Guterres also stated that he condemns all attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians and their property in the occupied West Bank, and affirms that such incidents are part of a growing pattern of extremist violence that is escalating tensions.
He added that Israel, as the occupying power, has a duty to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure that those responsible for these attacks are held accountable.
On Thursday morning, settlers who had seized Palestinian land set fire to the Hajja Hamida Mosque in the Salfit Governorate in the northern West Bank, and spray-painted racist slogans on its walls.
The burning of the mosque is part of a series of repeated attacks targeting places of worship and Islamic holy sites this year.
Palestinian human rights organizations have documented dozens of incidents, including the burning of mosques, the desecration of Qurans, and the writing of slogans calling for the expulsion or killing of Palestinians.
Settlers carried out 7,154 attacks in the West Bank during the two years of the war on Gaza, resulting in the deaths of 33 Palestinians and the displacement of 33 communities, according to data from the Palestinian Authority’s Commission against the Wall and Settlements.
Meanwhile, attacks by the Israeli army and settlers together have killed at least 1,070 Palestinians, injured approximately 10,700, and led to the arrest of more than 20,500 others.
The ceasefire agreement halted an Israeli genocidal war on Gaza that began on October 8, 2023, leaving more than 69,000 Palestinians dead and more than 170,000 wounded, most of them children and women, with reconstruction estimated by the United Nations to cost around $70 billion.
