Hardline settlers attacked a mosque in a West Bank village on Monday in an apparent "price tag" operation following the demolition of homes in a settlement outpost by Israeli forces.
Windows were smashed, tyres set alight inside the building and graffiti in Hebrew sprayed on the walls at the mosque in the village of Qusra, near Nablus, according to the Palestinian news agency Ma'an.
Israel Army Radio reported that the graffiti included the words "Alei Ayin and Migron = Social Justice," referring to two settlement outposts and the phrase most closely associated with the widespread civic protests that have swept Israel over the summer.
The mosque attack came hours after the demolition of three homes at the outpost of Migron. Around 1,000 police officers accompanied bulldozers to the outpost, east of the main Palestinian city of Ramallah. Two hundred settlers attempted to stop the operation.
An injunction to prevent the demolition was sought and granted at Israel's supreme court, only to be overturned by the same court within hours.
The state of Israel had agreed to comply with an earlier supreme court order to demolish the three homes, which were constructed this year, by the end of this month. Peace Now, an Israeli NGO which monitors settlement activity, had petitioned the court on the grounds that the homes were built on private Palestinian land.
The entire outpost, home to around 50 families, must be demolished by the end of next March, Israel's high court of justice has ordered after ruling that it is "illegal" in Israeli terms because the land is privately owned by Palestinians rather than appropriated state land.
The judges said in their ruling that Migron was "one of the most difficult and aberrant cases of illegal outposts brought before this court".
All settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law, but most have been established with the backing of the Israeli state.
Migron, the largest outpost in the West Bank, was founded a decade ago with the active support of the-then government, the Israeli military and the civil administration which governs large parts of the West Bank. Its homes were hooked up to Israeli electricity and water supplies, and roads leading to the outpost were paved.
Its supporters claim that Migron is a test case for the future of West Bank settlements and outposts that are likely to be on the Palestinian side of a border agreed in a peace deal. There are more than 100 unauthorised Jewish colonies in the West Bank.
Tensions between settlers and Palestinians are likely to increase in the coming weeks as Palestinian leaders request recognition of their state by the United Nations.
Israeli security forces are preparing for possible widespread protests by Palestinians in the West Bank, which could be met with violent resistance by hardline settlers. The army is training settlement security officials in the use of teargas and stun grenades.
Mike Guzafsky, who trains guard and attack dogs for settlements, told the Associated Press that he had seen an increase in requests for dogs in recent weeks.