Suspected Jewish extremists set fire to a mosque near the West Bank town of Nablus overnight Thursday, destroying its interior and torching carpets and Islamic books, witnesses said.
A group of Israelis, who witnesses said were Jewish settlers, broke the windows of the mosque in the village of Hawara near the southern entrance of Nablus, which has been a flashpoint in the wave of violence which has swept the Palestinian territories, and poured gasoline (petrol) inside.
An AFP photographer said the building remained standing, but the inside was blackened and the floor was strewn with charred carpets and burnt copies of the Islamic holy book, the Quran.
Clashes erupted after the pre-dawn arson attack, which took place in an area where Israel has imposed a 24-hour curfew for the past four days - HAWARA, Nablus (AFP)
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