Cars vandalized in Palestinian village in suspected hate crime attack
Israeli settlers accused by Palestinian media of smashing windshields, daubing messages against administrative detention and Arab presence in Holy Land
Several cars were vandalized in a Palestinian village in the West Bank early Wednesday and spray-painted with graffiti messages in Hebrew in an attack Palestinians blamed on Israeli settlers.
Photos of cars with smashed windshields and punctured tires in the village of Fara’ata, near Nablus, were posted on Palestinian media.
Police confirmed the reports, adding that they have opened an investigation and that “police forces along with army forces arrived at the scene and began collecting evidence.”
Messages including “Stop administrative detentions” and “Administrative price tag” were scrawled on vehicles and buildings.
Many of the so-called “hilltop youth” settlers have launched a campaign against the employment of administrative detention against suspects of committing attacks against Palestinians and non-Jews in the West Bank.
Administrative detention is also widely used against Palestinians, and has been criticized by many rights groups since it allows Israel to hold detainees for long periods of time, without trial, being allowed to consult a lawyer or even knowing what they are accused of.
https://twitter.com/1Haiden1/status/981422648537305089
“Price tag” refers to vandalism and other hate crimes carried out by Jewish ultra-nationalists ostensibly in retaliation for Palestinian violence or government policies perceived as hostile to the settler movement. Mosques, churches, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military bases have been targeted by nationalist vandals in recent years.
The acts have been condemned by Israeli leaders across the political spectrum.
Other messages found in Fara’ata said “God is the king” and “There is no place in the land of Israel for foreigners and enemies of God.” Other cars had the letter X spray-painted on them.
חשד לפשע שנאה: כתובות "תג מחיר" התגלו הבוקר על מכוניות בכפר פרעתא בשומרון. בין היתר נכתב: "אין מקום בארץ ישראל לזרים ואויבי השם" @carmeldangor pic.twitter.com/HzS08bN4ow
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) April 4, 2018
Yesh Din, a human rights group frequently critical of the Israeli government, said Wednesday on Twitter that it had recently recorded a “series of price tag attacks, violence and damaging of property in Palestinian villages and in East Jerusalem.”
“The actions are meant to spark fear among residents, but to our knowledge no suspects have been arrested on any occasion,” it added. “This proves law enforcement authorities do not attribute much significance to these violent attacks.”
In February, racist anti-Arab graffiti was daubed on vehicles in the West Bank village of Jit, and tires were slashed on some of the vehicles, police said at the time. Among the Hebrew slogans found were “Death to the Arabs” and “Transfer now,” a reference to the far-right notion of expelling all of the Palestinians to foreign countries. It was the second such incident reported in two days, after several cars were similarly vandalized in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan earlier that week.
In January, a car was torched in East Jerusalem and “Death to the Arabs” graffiti was found nearby.
