Settlers suspect after West Bank mosque set on fire

A West Bank mosque was burned and vandalised early on Tuesday, with graffiti warning in Hebrew of a "war" over the impending evacuation of the Jewish settlement of Ulpana.

Police officials said it was the fourth attack on a mosque in the last 18 months and part of a recent uptick in so-called "price tag" incidents by radical settlers.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately condemned the attack as "the work of intolerant, irresponsible lawbreakers," adding, "We will act quickly in order to bring them to justice." Micky Rosenfeld, a spokesman for the Israeli police, said that several suspects entered Jabaa, a Palestinian village of 4,200 about five miles from both Jerusalem and Ramallah, early on Tuesday, then broke a large window in the mosque and set a fire that burned several yards of a carpet and wall. Outside the building, the slogan "Ulpana war" was written on the right of the window, and "Price tag" on the left, suggesting the attack was in exchange for the coming evacuation.

The two-storey Grand Mosque of Jabaa was built three years ago to replace a smaller mosque.

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