In the village of Madama near Nablus, Israeli forces and settlers stormed a mosque during evening prayers, hurling tear gas canisters at worshippers. Naim Ahmed Faraj, 66, who suffers from joint and heart ailments, collapsed from suffocation.
His son, Mohammed Naim, said his father fell semiconscious and his condition worsened as no ambulances were available. "The mosque is supposed to be a safe haven where people can pray without being attacked. But lately, it has become a source of anxiety," Naim told Al Jazeera.
The attack is part of a rising wave of settler and military violence across the occupied West Bank, which Palestinian sources say is emboldened by extremist ministers like Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. Naim described the raids as daily occurrences, deliberately timed during prayer hours to maximize panic.
"Our village has become like an island surrounded by settlements, the bypass road, and the army," Naim said. More than 750,000 settlers live in illegal settlements, and their numbers grow as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opposes a sovereign Palestinian state.
Anti-Palestinian rhetoric has intensified ahead of next month's elections. Last week, far-right Knesset member Zvi Sukkot stormed Madama and smashed a Palestinian memorial with a sledgehammer.
Hours later, settlers attacked the Imad al-Din Zanki mosque in nearby Bazariya, pouring flammable liquids and setting it ablaze. They sprayed Hebrew graffiti, including threats to kill Arabs and a message mocking US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who had called settlers "terrorists."
The office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned of a catastrophic religious war. The Ministry of Religious Affairs condemned the targeting of mosques as a flagrant violation of international law, documenting at least 13 mosques vandalized or burned this year.
According to the UN, at least 76 Palestinians, including 18 children, have been killed in the territory this year, and some 3,800 people displaced. Over 1,450 settler attacks were recorded, causing about 1,040 injuries. For residents, the violence has shattered any sense of safety. Naim said he keeps his son at home, fearing daily incursions.
Source: www.aljazeera.com