Israeli settlers have set fire to two mosques as well as cars and farmland in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials say, as tensions in the territory continue to rise.

The latest attacks come two days after a clash between settlers and Palestinians near the village of Tal, which left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.

Both sides accused the other of provoking the violence.

The confrontation has further inflamed the situation in the West Bank, which has seen increasing violence by extremist settlers against Palestinians, encouraged by far-right elements in the current Israeli government.

Palestinian reports say two villages in the occupied West Bank were attacked by settlers overnight, with cars vandalized, property stolen and hate graffiti painted on walls.

The mayor of Qusra said settlers set fire to a mosque that was under construction.

Abdul Azim Wadi said settlers painted graffiti including the word “revenge” on the walls of the mosque.

The Israeli military has said troops were sent to Qusra and that police would investigate and collect evidence.

Palestinian officials say that in another incident, settlers set fire to another mosque in the village of Kour and painted slogans on its walls.

Since Friday’s deadly clash in Tal, Palestinians say there have been multiple settler attacks on villages across the West Bank.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out raids and arrested dozens of Palestinians in what they call a “counter-terrorism” operation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the Tal incident by promising to take “strong measures.”

That includes the possible demolition of the homes of two of the Palestinians allegedly involved.

In recent months there has been a sharp increase in settler attacks in the West Bank.

It has drawn international condemnation, but has shown little if any sign of reversing.

The situation had already deteriorated before the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023.

But since Israel’s subsequent war against Hamas in Gaza broke out, settler violence in the West Bank has increased.

The UN says 1,114 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, the vast majority at the hands of the IDF. It says at least 35 of the deaths are due to settler attacks.

It says 41 Israelis, including civilians and security personnel, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

Israel has built hundreds of settlements housing 700,000 Jews since it occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem (land the Palestinians want, along with Gaza, for a hoped-for future state) during the 1967 Middle East war. An estimated 3.3 million Palestinians live alongside them. The settlements are illegal under international law.