Israeli Settlers Torch Deir Dibwan Mosque, 92-Year-Old Yasser Rashid Says

After completing Maghrib prayer, 92-year-old Palestinian American Yasser Saqer Rashid sat in one corner of the al-Marah mosque in Deir Dibwan near Ramallah when Israeli settlers stormed the courtyard and poured an incendiary substance on a window to start a fire.

“After completing Maghrib prayer, Yasser Saqer Rashid sat down in one corner of the al-Marah mosque in the occupied West Bank and started reading the Quran”

Al Jazeera

Rashid told Al Jazeera, "He wanted to burn me alive," describing a settler holding a petrol bomb and pointing it at his face and clothes near the window.

Al Jazeera

Surveillance footage documented masked settlers breaking into the mosque’s inner rooms before stepping outside to torch six vehicles belonging to local residents.

In the neighbouring town of Burqa, another mosque, al-Noor, was targeted by an arson attack shortly afterwards, with attackers igniting tyres and flammable materials at the doors in an attempt to burn the building down.

Al Jazeera also reported that settlers’ arson attacks on mosques have occurred during Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 73,000 people since October 7, 2023.

WAFA said the Palestinian health ministry announced that 16 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank since the start of the year, including Awda Atef Awawdeh, 25, who succumbed to injuries after being hit by live rounds during an attack on Deir Dibwan east of Ramallah.

Le Monde, citing the Palestinian health ministry, reported that Awda Atef Awawdeh was killed on Wednesday, April 22, by gunfire from Israeli settlers in the center of the West Bank, the day after two Palestinians died in similar circumstances.

WAFA Agency

Le Monde also reported that the Israeli army told AFP it had received a "report of Israeli civilians entering the area" without prior authorization and said troops intervened to prevent any confrontation.

WAFA further reported that Israeli settlers raided Deir Dibwan on Thursday evening, raiding a residential area and seizing a vehicle under the protection of Israeli forces, with two groups storming the town and reaching the first roundabout in the Al-Marah neighborhood.

WAFA said the settlers raided the vicinity of the Abu Kayed family home and closed an iron gate installed by Israeli forces at the town's entrance, preventing residents from accessing the family's house.

Al Jazeera said the recent arson attacks on mosques are part of a documented pattern of targeting Palestinian religious sites, citing the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission’s claim that Israeli forces and settlers carried out 22 separate attacks on Muslim religious sites during May 2026 alone.

“RAMALLAH, June 18, 2026 (WAFA) – Israeli settlers launched an attack on the town of Deir Dibwan, east of Ramallah, on Thursday evening, raiding a residential area and seizing a vehicle, according to local sources”

WAFA Agency

Al Jazeera reported that the majority of those attacks occurred in the Hebron governorate with 14 attacks, followed by Nablus, Jenin, Jericho and Ramallah.

Amir Daoud, head of documentation and publication at the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, told Al Jazeera, "This is a deliberate attack on the very nerve of Palestinian tranquility," adding that it aims to shatter a sense of safety.

WAFA reported that the Commission for the Resistance to the Wall and Settlements said Israeli occupation forces and settlers carried out 1,819 attacks during March, with Israeli forces conducting 1,322 and settlers committing 497.

WAFA said the Commission noted that the attacks were mainly concentrated in the Hebron Governorate (321 attacks), followed by the Nablus Governorate (315 attacks), then the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorates (292 attacks), and finally the Jerusalem Governorate (203 attacks).