Extremist vandals on Thursday torched another mosque in the latest "price tag" reprisal attack as Israeli troops demolished part of an illegal settlement outpost in the northern West Bank. It was the second time in as many days that attackers had tried to burn down a mosque and left Hebrew-language graffiti at the scene in a protest linked to state plans to dismantle a handful of wildcat settler outposts.
The attacks sparked an angry Palestinian response, with officials accusing the Israeli government of providing "impunity" to the extremists. "Setting fire to the mosque is a declaration of war by the settlers against Palestinians," presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina told AFP. And the Palestinian Authority said Israeli forces had done nothing "to prevent or punish the rising trend of settler violence."
"This policy encourages settler hate crimes against Palestinians and their places of worship," it said. "Such incidents have continued unabated while Israeli policies are providing impunity to those extremists." Thursday's arson attempt targeted a mosque in Burqa village near Ramallah.
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