Palestinians return for prayers in West Bank mosque after settler attack

JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Palestinians in a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank held weekly communal prayers on Friday after clearing insulting graffiti, broken glass and burn marks from a mosque they say was targeted by Jewish settlers amid a spike in attacks.

Villagers in Deir Istiya who cleaned up the mosque told Reuters that settlers had smashed windows, sprayed slogans insulting Islam's Prophet Mohammed and tried to torch the building in an assault on Wednesday night.

Reuters video of the mosque on Thursday showed the graffiti as well as shattered glass, charred internal walls and furniture, and a burnt Koran.

Israel's military said security forces had arrived at the mosque after hearing reports of the attack but had not identified or arrested any suspects.

It said in a statement to Reuters that it "condemns any force of violence and will continue to operate to safeguard the security and order in the area".

U.N. RECORDS SPIKE IN ATTACKS

Settler attacks have proliferated in the West Bank according to the United Nations, which recorded at least 264 attacks against Palestinians in October, the highest monthly total since it began tracking such incidents in 2006.

"It’s an attempt by them (the settlers) to take control of lands in the West Bank. But we remain steadfast and rooted in our land," said Raed Salman, a leader of the main Palestinian political party Fatah.

Home to 2.7 million Palestinians, the West Bank has long been at the heart of their aspirations to a future independent state, but successive Israeli governments have expanded settlements there, fragmenting the territory.

The United Nations, Palestinians and most countries regard settlements as illegal under international law. Israel disputes this, saying it has biblical and historical ties to the West Bank. Over half a million Israelis live in settlements.

Palestinians say Israeli forces do not protect them from settler violence. The Israeli military says soldiers are often dispatched to deal with any trouble.

"We are here for Friday prayer because it's an Islamic holy site. We want to show Netanyahu and his allies that this mosque was fixed in 24 hours and we will put back the carpets soon," said worshipper Wadee' Salman, referring to the Israeli prime minister.

(Writing by Pesha Magid; editing by Mark Heinrich)