JERUSALEM: Investigations have shown that arson was the most likely cause of a fire at a mosque in the northern West Bank, Israeli firefighters who probed the incident said on Friday.
Israeli investigators initially suggested Tuesday’s fire at a mosque in the town of Lubban ash-Sharqiya could have been caused by a short-circuit, but Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas blamed it on hard-line Jewish settlers and warned that it threatened the peace process.
"We haven’t found any indication of a short-circuit and the fire was most likely criminal," said Jacky Binyamin, spokesman for Israeli firefighters in the occupied West Bank.
The United Nations condemned the attack.
"There have been a number of attacks upon mosques in recent months, as well as violence against Palestinian property and individuals by extremist settlers. I condemn these attacks," the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Robert Serry, said in a statement.
"It is vital that the Israeli government impose the rule of law and that those responsible for such crimes are brought to justice."
"Extremists from either side must not be allowed to set the agenda and undermine the vital efforts to renew negotiations," he said.
Iran condemned "the increase of criminal acts by Zionists against mosques and the burning of Muslim holy sites" in the West Bank, foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said.
He also criticized the "silence of Arab countries, international organizations and Western countries," saying inaction would "increase hatred and reinforce the resistance of the Palestinian people."
The attack came as Israel and the Palestinians appeared set to start US-brokered indirect talks within days. Direct negotiations, which produced no visible results, collapsed in December 2008 just over one year after they resumed.
"Provocative incidents threaten to weaken the current progress by the parties, supported by the international community, towards the achievement of a lasting resolution of this conflict," the EU representatives to the Palestinian Authority and consuls generals in Jerusalem said in a joint statement.
Jewish settlers have declared a "price-tag" policy, under which they have targeted Palestinians or their property in retaliation for any Israeli government measure they see as threatening settlements.
On April 14, a mosque near Nablus was desecrated with Hebrew graffiti and a Star of David scrawled over the walls.
In December, settlers vandalized another mosque in the northern West Bank, torching Muslim holy books and spraying hate messages in Hebrew. The incident triggered clashes between villagers and Israeli troops.
