Key facts
- Israeli forces wounded two Palestinians, aged 70 and 15, during a raid in Qusra.
- Two mosques in Qusra and Kour were set on fire in an apparent Israeli settler attack.
- Israeli soldiers and police arrested over 70 Palestinians over the weekend.
- Two young Palestinian men were killed in Beit Furik after attempting to extinguish fires on farmland.
- An Israeli man was stabbed during the incident in Beit Furik.
Israeli forces wounded two Palestinians, aged 70 and 15, during a raid on a home in the occupied West Bank village of Qusra, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The incident occurred amid a weekend of escalating settler violence, which included fires set at two mosques in Qusra and Kour.
In Qusra, attackers spray-painted "revenge Benayahu," referring to an Israeli soldier killed Friday, and "the land of Israel is redeemed with blood" on the mosque. Security footage showed three people in civilian clothes setting off an explosion at the mosque entrance. The Israeli military stated it is working with police to investigate the mosque attack.
Over the weekend, two mosques in the villages of Qusra and Kour were set on fire. Israeli soldiers and police fanned out across the West Bank, closing roads and arresting more than 70 Palestinians in an effort to contain the escalating violence.
Separately, two young Palestinian men were killed in the town of Beit Furik, east of Nablus, after attempting to extinguish fires on Palestinian farmland. Palestinian officials reported that Israeli forces opened fire and injured four Palestinians in Beit Furik, with two later dying from their wounds. An Israeli man was also stabbed in the incident. Local sources insisted the Palestinians were trying to put out fires started by settlers when they were attacked. Israeli forces sealed all entrances to Beit Furik, forcing one family to evacuate their home. Fires damaged electricity poles and settlers torched two vehicles.
Earlier on Thursday, a third Palestinian man was shot dead by Israeli forces near the Ganim settlement, with the military claiming he stabbed a soldier. Violence in the West Bank has escalated since the war in Gaza began, marked by frequent Israeli military raids and increased settler activity. Thousands of settlers and far-right Israelis, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound.