Suspected right-wing Jewish vandals set a mosque in the Arab village of Deit Istiya in Samaria on fire late Tuesday night and painted graffiti on the mosque’s wall with hate messages such as “Revenge for spilled blood in Kusra,” referring to the village where Arabs brutally beat a group of Jews last week after the Jews were spotted walking towards the village.
The village’s mayor, Ayyub Abu Hijlah, told the Bethlehem-based Ma’an News Agency that local residents saw the fire before it got out of control, limiting the damage to the mosque’s doors. The residents said they chased away Jews who had set fire to the building.