A mosque in the West Bank was set on fire Sunday morning, with the words 'Revenge for Benayahu' spray-painted on the entrance wall alongside a Star of David, according to The Jerusalem Post. Benayahu is one of the victims of Friday's shooting attack in the village of Tell. No casualties were reported. Israeli forces are investigating.
A mosque in the West Bank was set on fire early Sunday, with the words 'Revenge for Benayahu' spray-painted on its entrance wall alongside a Star of David, according to The Jerusalem Post. Benayahu is one of the victims of Friday's shooting attack in the village of Tell, where an Israeli was killed after a Palestinian snatched a weapon and opened fire. The detail linking the graffiti to a specific victim emerged Sunday morning, hours after the IDF confirmed that troops were dispatched to the village of Qusra overnight following a similar mosque arson and 'Revenge' graffiti.
The Zioneer reported the incident in four updates beginning at 03:43 Jerusalem time Sunday. The first version cited unverified social media footage of a mosque burning in Qusra. By 03:43, Palestinian sources confirmed a torched mosque and vehicle attacks, and journalist Nir Dvori (N12) cited Palestinian reports stating Jews set fire to a mosque and sprayed graffiti in Kusra. At the same time, the IDF issued a statement confirming troops were sent to Qusra after settlers set fire to a mosque and spray-painted the word 'Revenge' in Hebrew, adding that police would collect evidence. The 'Revenge for Benayahu' graffiti is a new development not mentioned in the IDF's earlier confirmation.
The fire comes two days after a deadly shooting in the village of Tell, which the IDF said on Friday resulted from an unauthorized West Bank hike. One Israeli, Benayahu Mellet, 32, was killed; the IDF expressed concern about possible Jewish reprisal attacks. Earlier Sunday, The Zioneer reported that Jewish individuals attempted to torch a Palestinian home in Beit Furik, Samaria, failing to ignite it but spraying slogans. The two incidents are part of a pattern of settler attacks following the Tell shooting.
No group has claimed responsibility for the mosque fire, and the suspects fled before security forces arrived. The investigation is ongoing, and it remains unclear whether the same perpetrators are behind the Qusra and Beit Furik incidents.
5 developments
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- StrongSettlers torch vehicles, mosque in arson attacks east of Ramallah
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