Escalating Tensions as Israeli Forces and Settlers Target West Bank Mosques

Palestinians inspect a mosque that was attacked by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Bazariya, in the occupied West Bank, on September 1, 2026. Israeli forces have fired tear gas into a mosque in the occupied West Bank, leaving worshippers inside struggling to breathe, hours after settlers tried to set fire to a second mosque in the territory.

The Palestinian Ministry of Religious Affairs condemned the continued pogroms on Tuesday, calling them a flagrant violation of the sanctity of places of worship. Footage, verified by Al Jazeera, showed worshippers at the mosque in Madama, near Nablus, coughing in the aftermath of the tear gas attack, with one elderly man bent over as another tried to help him. The ministry stated that Israeli forces fired tear gas canisters into the mosque during evening prayers, causing several elderly worshippers to suffer from suffocation and widespread disruption to the congregation.

Earlier, Israeli settlers attempted to set fire to another mosque in the nearby town of Bazariya. Photos and videos from Nur al-Din Zanki Mosque revealed blackened burn marks around a window and Hebrew phrases sprayed on the exterior walls. Local resident Majed Nasr told the AFP news agency that a small explosion caused a fire early Tuesday morning, which residents managed to contain before it reached the main upper level.

The Religious Affairs Ministry condemned the criminal attack, noting that approximately 13 mosques have been violated by the Israeli military or settlers since the beginning of 2026. Local sources told the Anadolu agency that the racist slogans sprayed at the site included threats against Palestinians and a message to United States ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, reading: "Huckabee, greetings from the terrorists." Last month, Huckabee had described Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians in Qusra and other areas of the occupied West Bank as terrorists.

Following the Madama attack, the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned of the dangers of an escalating religious war waged by Israeli forces and settlers against religious sites in the occupied West Bank, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem. The statement cautioned that these systematic attacks crossed all red lines and risked triggering a serious regional and global religious conflict.

Additionally, settlers burned vehicles in Beta, south of Nablus, and set fire to a Palestinian vehicle in Nahalin, west of Bethlehem, on Tuesday according to media reports and online footage. These incidents coincide with a sharp rise in violence across the occupied West Bank. In August, the United Nations reported that at least 76 Palestinians had been killed in the territory this year, with approximately 3,800 people displaced by settler violence, demolitions, and evictions, alongside over 1,430 documented settler attacks resulting in casualties or property damage.

Elsewhere in the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces arrested at least 14 Palestinians, including five in Rummanah, one at the Anab checkpoint, one in Tammun, three in Hebron, two in Bethlehem, and two in Nablus. Furthermore, Israeli forces uprooted olive trees near Jenin, demolished greenhouses, and issued a demolition notice for a home in the town of Idhna.