The Higher Presidential Committee for Church Affairs in Palestine, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Swiss Foreign Ministry have all condemned the latest arson attack by illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers on the Hajjah Hamideh Mosque, located between Deir Istiya and Kifl Haris in the northwest of Salfit in the central West Bank.
Racist slogans were spray-painted on the mosque’s walls, prompting unified denunciations of the assault as a grave violation of religious freedom, international law, and humanitarian norms.
This attack is part of a documented surge in colonizer violence targeting Palestinian religious sites in 2025.
At least ten mosque attacks have been confirmed this year, including arson, desecration of Qurans, and graffiti inciting religious hatred.
مستوطنون يحرقون مسجدًا ومصاحفه على الطريق بين بلدتي ديراستيا وكفل حارس، شمال غرب سلفيت.
تفاصيل ما جرى، ولماذا يشكل مكان الاعتداء سابقة خطيرة؟ pic.twitter.com/OOFOW0oqtk— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) November 13, 2025
The Hajjah Hamideh Mosque was set ablaze using flammable liquids, and villagers intervened to contain the fire.
The Palestinian Ministry of Endowments described the incident as a deliberate assault on Islamic sanctities and warned of a broader campaign of religious hatred.
|No Indictments for Colonizer Violence in the Occupied West Bank|
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation condemned the arson as a “terrorist crime” and a blatant provocation to Muslims worldwide.
It emphasized that such attacks violate the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law, and warned of a systematic escalation in colonizer violence under the protection of Israeli occupation forces.
The organization called for urgent international action to hold perpetrators accountable and criminalize religious desecration.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry expressed deep concern over the rising violence by Israeli colonizers against Palestinians in the West Bank, including the burning of property and religious sites.
Switzerland called for an immediate halt to the expansion of illegal colonies and urged Israel to respect its obligations under international law and preserve the viability of a two-state solution.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, October 2025 saw the highest monthly total of colonizer attacks since tracking began—264 incidents in one month alone.
These attacks often coincide with the olive harvest season and are rarely prosecuted, reinforcing a climate of impunity.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Palestine warned that no place of worship is safe under the current wave of colonizer and military violence. It urged Arab and Islamic institutions to intervene and called on the international community to end its silence and enforce accountability.
This latest mosque arson is not an isolated act—it is part of a broader pattern of religious terror, land seizure, and ethnic cleansing.
The continued targeting of Islamic and Christian sanctities reflects a deliberate strategy to erase Palestinian presence and provoke sectarian conflict under the guise of settler expansion.
