ALBAWABA - Israeli settlers set fire to parts of a mosque in the village of Jaljulia, north of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, on Wednesday, according to the head of the village council.
"Settlers set fire to the ablution area and damaged the village's main mosque, and wrote anti-Arab slogans on the exterior walls," AFP quoted Jaljulia village council head, Osama Abdullah.
He explained that the settlers initially tried to burn down the mosque itself, but its door was locked. They then set fire to the ablution area, which is located on the lower floor.
Abdullah further noted that Palestinian civil defense crews and young men from Jaljulia and neighboring villages were able to extinguish the blaze.
He added that Israeli army forces arrived at the scene and took fingerprints.
The Israeli army did not immediately respond to AFP's request for comment.
Video footage captured by an AFP team showed the aftermath of the fire in the mosque's ablution room, remnants of rubber tires, the smell of gasoline, and Hebrew graffiti on its exterior walls, including "Revenge," "Mosque Night," and "Greetings from the Hilltop Youth."
