Illegal Israeli settlers torch mosque in occupied West Bank

Illegal Israeli settlers have set fire to the Bir al-Walidain Mosque in the village of Marda, northern occupied West Bank, Anadolu learned.

Witnesses said a group of illegal settlers on Friday stormed the eastern neighbourhood of Marda, near the city of Salfit, and deliberately set the mosque ablaze.

Residents managed to extinguish the flames, but the fire had already caused significant damage to the mosque’s structure.

The village of Marda is adjacent to the illegal Ariel settlement and is surrounded by a barbed-wire fence.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank over Israel’s war on Gaza.

At least 822 Palestinians have since been killed and around 6,500 others wounded by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land unlawful and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.