TRANSCRIPT
There's been international criticism of a settler attack on a mosque in the occupied West Bank.
It's raised questions about Israel’s handling of rising violence in the territory.
The mosque in Deir Istiya was torched and defaced, with settlers burning copies of the Koran and scrawling hateful graffiti.
Reporters arriving later found scorched carpets, blackened walls and messages in Hebrew such as “we will revenge again”, “keep on condemning”, and “we are not afraid”.
Some of the writing appeared to reference Major General Avi Bluth, Israel's Central Command chief who had issued a rare condemnation of settler violence the previous day.
Israeli forces say they have opened an investigation and passed the case to police, though no suspects have been identified.
At a press briefing, Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian insisted the army applies the law evenly and rejects any harm to civilians or religious sites, stressing that Israel does not tolerate lawlessness by its own citizens.
“Any incidents of lawlessness are dealt with to the full extent of the law. The IDF operates under strict ethical guidelines and international law in Judea and Samaria. Commander of the Central Command made it clear that the IDF does not accept any situation in which lawbreakers harm property and civilians.”
Human rights groups and Palestinian communities dispute Israel’s assurances, arguing that settler attacks are rising sharply and rarely lead to arrests or prosecutions.
Their concerns are now echoed by the United Nations.
In New York, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric issued a strong condemnation, calling the mosque attack completely unacceptable and reminding Israel of its obligations under international law.
He stressed that occupying powers must protect civilians and ensure accountability, duties the UN says are currently not being met.
"Regarding the West Bank, I can tell you that we are deeply disturbed by the attacks by Israeli settlers who set fire overnight to a mosque in a West Bank village. Such attacks on places of worship are completely unacceptable. We have and will continue to condemn attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank. Israel, as the occupying power, has a responsibility to protect the civilian population and ensure that those responsible for these attacks, including this attack on a mosque and the spray painting of horrendous language on the mosque, be brought to account."
The UN has warned that escalating settler violence risks triggering a secondary crisis that could spill into Gaza, undermining the ceasefire and restricting humanitarian access.
Meanwhile, UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini says the agency is operating at a high tempo since the ceasefire, expanding services despite major constraints on bringing food and supplies into Gaza.
He emphasises that humanitarian assistance must extend well beyond food parcels to meet the scale of need.
"Since the ceasefire is in place, we have expanded our services, scaled up our services. Now it is true that the agency continues to be constrained when it comes to bring in supply, when it comes to bringing in food. But, I keep reminding colleagues, you know, a human-turned response is not just food distribution. If you want to address the hunger and the despair in Gaza, it's not just through food distribution. It's a comprehensive response and as an agency, we can focus on services."
UNRWA says its clinics, schools, shelters and sanitation teams are now running at pace, but warns that without more access, particularly for food and medicine, those gains may not hold.
And that humanitarian pressure is also shaped by what happens in the West Bank.
"There is today two bills adopted by the Knesset, you are all very well aware, which started to be implemented as from the end of January. The impact was on the operation presence in East Jerusalem, primarily our schools, and the second impact has been that we had to withdraw our international staff, both from the West Bank and Gaza. But in reality, we are extraordinarily operational."
US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, on Tuesday said there was concern recent West Bank violence may undermine talks in Gaza.
"But yes, look, certainly there's some concern about events in the West Bank spilling over and creating an effect that could undermine what we're doing in Gaza. We don't expect it to. We'll do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen."
The mosque attack, the rise in settler violence, and the difficulties of delivering aid in Gaza are closely interlinked.
Tensions in one area now directly influence stability in another.
Humanitarian agencies also caution that needs on the ground remain vast and are becoming harder to meet as political volatility intensifies.
