Police investigating ‘price tag’ incidents in Jerusalem

Police said Wednesday they were investigating anti-Arab graffiti found at two sites in Jerusalem.

“Death to Arabs” and “Price Tag” slogans were found scrawled on walls on Herbert Samuel Street in the city center and Hameiri Boulevard in Givat Shaul, according to police.

The vandalism came several days after police announced that they had arrested six extremist Jews for the kidnap and killing of Arab Israeli teenager Muhammed Abu Khdeir, whose body was found charred in the Jerusalem Forest early last week.

The suspects are being treated as terrorists and have been held in custody without access to a lawyer up to this point. The killing of Abu Khdeir was apparently in revenge for the kidnap and slaying of three Israeli teens, who were buried hours before Abu Khdeir was abducted.

Overnight Tuesday-Wednesday, 13 residents of East Jerusalem were arrested for throwing stones and Molotov cocktails during clashes with police.

The murders have led to a rash of demonstrations, violent riots and nationalist attacks throughout the country over the past week that have both Arab and Jewish leaders calling for calm.

Israel has also been conducting a major operation in Gaza since Tuesday morning that has resulted in the deaths of at least 25 people in Gaza, while militants in the Strip have launched about 200 hundred rockets into Israel reaching as far as Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Hadera.