Beit Fajjar, West Bank (CNN) -- Vandals torched a West Bank mosque and sprayed graffiti on its walls early Monday, officials said.
Palestinian witnesses said four people tried to set fire to the mosque, burning carpets and 12 Qurans around 3:30 a.m. (9:30 p.m. ET Sunday).
Authorities were investigating whether Israeli settlers were behind the act.
The arsonists sprayed "revenge" and "price tag" on the walls, Israeli police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said.
CNN Producer Kareem Khadder observed burned carpets and tiles that had been broken off pillars inside the mosque. Spray-painted graffiti in Hebrew read, "This is toilet number 18" and "Revenge and avenge".
A Palestinian woman who lives across from the mosque, Mariam al-Sheikh, said she saw smoke and fire billowing from the mosque. She said she and others threw buckets of water on the flames.
The Israeli police and military are investigating the fire, which occurred in the village of Beit Fajjar south of Bethlehem in the West Bank.
CNN
