Full story
Mosques Torched in West Bank
Israeli settlers vandalized two mosques in the Israeli-occupied West Bank overnight Tuesday, in what Palestinians said was part of an escalating wave of attacks deep in their villages and towns.
“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”
In Deir Dibwan near Ramallah, a 92-year-old Palestinian American, Yasser Saqer Rashid, told Al Jazeera that a settler poured an incendiary substance on a window of the al-Marah mosque and he said, "He wanted to burn me alive,".
Rashid said he was "shocked by a settler holding a petrol bomb, pointing it at my face and clothes near the window," as masked settlers broke into the mosque’s inner rooms before torching six vehicles belonging to local residents.
In the neighbouring town of Burqa, Al Jazeera reported that 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.
Witness Accounts and Calls
Al Jazeera reported that Rashid, after completing Maghrib prayer and reading the Quran in a corner of the al-Marah mosque, described how the commotion outside the mosque led him to see settlers storming the courtyard.
Rashid said, "I was shocked by a settler holding a petrol bomb, pointing it at my face and clothes near the window," and Al Jazeera said surveillance footage documented masked settlers breaking into the mosque’s inner rooms.
In response to the latest incidents, Al Jazeera said the Palestinian group Hamas condemned illegal Israeli settlers for setting fire to a mosque in the village of Jiljilya near Ramallah on Tuesday, June 16.
Al Jazeera also quoted Adel Maatan, the muezzin of the Burqa mosque, saying, "This is our land, inherited from our ancestors, and we will remain in it until the Day of Judgement."
Policy Shifts and Wider Violence
Beyond the arson attacks, Anadolu Ajansı reported that Israel approved Jewish religious school construction in the occupied West Bank’s Hebron, describing the decision as the first implementation of Israel’s move to strip the Palestinian Hebron municipality of building and planning authority.
“Israel approves Jewish religious school construction in occupied West Bank’s Hebron Decision marks 1st implementation of Israel’s move to take away Palestinian municipality’s building and planning authority, in violation of Hebron Agreement Qais Omar Darwesh 17 June 2026•Update: 17 June 2026 JERUSALEM Israeli army continues bulldozing operations in Jenin on land in Area A seized by Israel, although Area A is under Palestinian Authority control according to Oslo II agreement Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved the construction of a Jewish religious school in the city of Hebron in the southern occupied West Bank, in an unprecedented move”
Anadolu said the Higher Planning Committee in the Civil Administration approved plans to build 576 new housing units in Judea and Samaria, and it reported that approval was also granted for a new building for the Shavei Hebron religious school near Beit Romano in Hebron.
Hebron Mayor Youssef al-Jabari told Anadolu on Tuesday that he rejects the removal of the municipality’s powers and said it "cannot be bypassed or ignored under any circumstances."
In a separate development, Anadolu reported that Israeli bulldozers worked for a second day in central Jenin to establish a military camp on a seven-dunum agricultural plot in the Al-Jabariyat neighborhood, and it quoted Mamdouh Assaf saying, "This area is under Palestinian sovereignty according to the signed agreements, and establishing a military point there means imposing a new reality whose repercussions on residents and their daily movement remain unknown."
