Car set alight in Palestinian village in apparent revenge for terror attacks

CCTV catches three masked people setting vehicle alight in Turmus Ayya near Ramallah; flames lightly damage building, no injuries

By ToI Staff 29 January 2023, 12:21 pm Edit
Screen capture from video of an arson attack in the West Bank Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, January 29, 2023. (Twitter. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Screen capture from video of an arson attack in the West Bank Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya, January 29, 2023. (Twitter. Used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)

Masked attackers set alight a car in a West Bank Palestinian town overnight Saturday, destroying the vehicle and causing damage to the home where it was parked, Palestinian sources said.

Security cameras recorded three people climbing over a wall surrounding the home in Turmus Ayya, near Ramallah, and setting the car on fire. Flames spread to a patio roof, which was also destroyed. The invaders also damaged an olive tree. There was light damage caused to the building itself and no reports of injuries.

The incident came in the wake of several Palestinian terror attacks over the weekend that killed seven Israelis and seriously injured several others.

Israeli security forces opened an investigation into the incident.

In other violence, Palestinians said settlers attacked cars and property in a number of locations across the West Bank, including in Huwara, where they reportedly smashed shop windows. Local Palestinians reportedly hurled stones at the settlers to drive them off.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking Saturday night at the beginning of a security cabinet meeting to discuss the deadly terror attacks and heightened tension, urged Israelis against seeking revenge for the terror assaults.

“I call again to the citizens of Israel: Do not take the law into your hands. We are not in the days of the [Jewish] Underground. We have a sovereign country, with an excellent army, government, and security forces,” he said. “Let them do their work.”

According to Channel 12, over the weekend there were 30 reported incidents of nationalist crimes in the West Bank, compared to four the previous weekend.

Figures show that there were nearly 160 incidents of stone-throwing, of which 85 were directed at Palestinians, causing damage to 40 vehicles.

Israeli security services, including the Shin Bet, are concerned over a possible backlash from Jewish extremists to the weekend terror attacks and have been grouping to counter the threat, Hebrew media reported.

Anti-Palestinian vandalism by Jewish extremists is a common occurrence in the West Bank.

Arrests of perpetrators are exceedingly rare and rights groups lament that convictions are even more unusual, with the majority of charges in such cases being dropped.

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