Israeli prosecutors charge six settlers after West Bank mosque attack

SaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkIsraeli soldiers keep watch during a weekly tour by Israeli settlers in Hebron in the occupied West Bank. [File: Mussa Qawasma/Reuters]By Alex Milan Durie and AFPPublished On 26 Jun 202626 Jun 2026Israeli prosecutors have filed charges against six people following attacks on villages and a mosque by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.“Six indictments were filed for acts of terrorism, arson, sabotage and violent rioting in the village of Deir Dibwan out of a nationalistic motive,” Israeli police said in a statement on Friday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Israeli attacks on Gaza and occupied West Bank kill two, including childlist 2 of 4Our life stops’: West Bank childhood shattered by Israeli military raidslist 3 of 4Israeli forces shoot and kill Palestinians in occupied West Bank, Gazalist 4 of 4Who has profited most from the war on Iran?end of listOn June 14, Israeli settlers attacked two West Bank villages.Police said their investigation revealed that masked settlers had coordinated to enter Deir Dibwan together while carrying flammable substances, tear gas and a knife, AFP reported.“Upon entering the village, they carried out a series of terrorist acts, which included setting fire to vegetation, torching vehicles, damaging the local mosque, attacking residents’ homes and throwing stones at vehicles and inhabited houses,” according to the police statement.At the time of the attack, witnesses told Al Jazeera the settlers poured an incendiary substance on the window of the mosque and set it alight while worshippers were inside.More than 500,000 Israelis live in the occupied West Bank – excluding occupied East Jerusalem – in settlements and outposts illegal under international law.The number of settler attacks has risen sharply in 2026 to around six per day, according to the United Nations. Attacks continueOn Friday alone, Palestine’s Wafa news agency reported several settler attacks and raids on Palestinian homes and villages across the West Bank. They included attacks on homes in the village of Al-Maniya, southeast of Bethlehem, on vehicles in the northwest of Ramallah and a fire started by settlers on agricultural land in the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah.Wafa also reported that Israeli forces and settlers raided Al-Ras Mosque in Hebron’s Old City before dawn, assaulted those inside, prevented the dawn prayer from being held and closed the mosque to worshippers.The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs condemned the raid, denounced the raising of Israeli flags on the mosque as well as preventing worshippers from access.Also on Friday, Israeli forces assaulted and detained a Palestinian man near Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied Jerusalem, Wafa said.Attacks in the occupied West Bank have continued despite the charges against the six settlers.The defendants include five minors and an 18-year-old, according to The Times of Israel. It said they were charged in the Jerusalem District Court for racially-motivated assault that included a string of violent offences, rioting, arson under “terrorist” circumstances and racially-motivated property damage.Al Jazeera reported earlier that western countries such as the Australia, Canada, France, Norway, New Zealand and the UK have imposed coordinated sanctions targetting networks involved in financing, enabling and carrying out settler violence against Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.However, in Israel, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said that settler groups and their leaders welcomed the measures as a “badge of honour”, suggesting that the sanctions may do little to stop settlement expansion.Daniella Weiss, whose movement, Nachala, has held conferences on the Gaza border to discuss plans for settlement expansion there has “dismissed the European penalties as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘banal’.”