Police investigating new West Bank mosque arson

Perpetrators in Brukin burned tires near mosque door, sprayed Hebrew inscriptions; smashed windshields of 2 parked cars.

By YAAKOV LAPPIN, TOVAH LAZAROFF
Mosque in Brukin (photo credit: Courtesy of B'tslem)
Mosque in Brukin
(photo credit: Courtesy of B'tslem)
Police are investigating an arson attack on a West Bank mosque that took place early on Wednesday.
The mosque, situated in the Palestinian village of Brukin, on the outskirts of Kalkilya, was vandalized with spray paint, and burning tires were placed inside. A number of nearby vehicles belonging to the village residents were torched and many car windows were smashed.RELATED:3 soldiers arrested for alleged "price tag" attacksSuspect arrested in Tuba Zanghariya mosque torching
“It’s too early for us to talk about names of suspects,” a police spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post.
Police set up a task force this year made up of National Serious and International Crimes detectives and Judea and Samaria district officers to tackle suspected far-right activists behind a wave of hate crimes against Palestinians.
Police view the attacks as extremely dangerous incidents that could spark wider waves of violence in the region.
Separately, masked settlers attacked a Palestinian home in the outskirts of the village of a-Sira a-Kaballa, near the Yitzhar settlement. According to Munir Qadoos of Yesh Din, who visited the village on Wednesday, the settlers threw bottles of paint and stones at the windows, smashing some of the glass. The terrified family, who had small children, hid inside, he said. An oil-like substance was also poured on the small paved path leading to the home, he said. Qadoos added that he believed it was settlers from Yitzhar who had attacked the house.
The IDF initially denied that the incident had occurred, but then confirmed it. A spokesman explained that they saw evidence of the attack on the home, only after making a second visit to the village in the evening.
A Yitzhar spokesman said that tensions between his settlement and the village had been high. On Tuesday, he said, six masked Palestinians tried to ignite a nearby field but Border Police officers chased them, and arrested two of the six. The Border Police said it knew of no such incident.
Overnight, the spokesman said, Palestinians stole a security camera that lay between their village and the settlement.
In its place, he said, they left a Palestinian flag.