The incident happened in the village of Burqin, southwest of Nablus, in the early hours of the morning, they said.
"Early this morning there was an attempt to set fire to a mosque in Burqin," Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement.
"Burning tyres were rolled towards the entrance of the mosque, which was slightly damaged. One car parked outside the mosque was set on fire and an attempt was made to set a second vehicle on fire too, though it was only partially successful."
Palestinian security sources and eyewitnesses said anti-Arab slogans had been daubed on the mosque`s outer walls.
Samri said police had opened an investigation but that preliminary inquiries suggested the incident was a "nationalistic attack."
That appeared to be a reference to a spate of incidents dubbed "price-tag" attacks and carried out by right-wing Israelis against Palestinians and Arab-Israelis and their property.
In October, attackers tried to burn down a mosque in the Arab-Israeli village of Tuba Zangaria and scrawled graffiti on its walls.
And in September there was a string of similar attacks against mosques, cars and agricultural land, with the attackers using slogans such as "Death to the Arabs" and other anti-Islamic graffiti.
Hardline settlers have adopted what they call a "price tag" policy under which they attack Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli government measures against settlements.
They have also acted following anti-Israeli attacks and have targeted both the military and left-wing Israelis working for human rights groups and anti-settlement watchdogs.
Israel`s government has condemned such attacks, but the Palestinians accuse them of failing to take sufficient action to prosecute the incidents and prevent future occurrences.
(Uu.H-AK)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
