Jewish extremists accused of vandalizing cars, homes in Palestinian town

Evidence of a hate crime was found in the Palestinian town of Turmus Ayya early Monday morning, with a number of vehicles vandalized, a rights group said.

According to Yesh Din, a left-wing group that documents settler violence in the West Bank, the tires on several cars were slashed and some windows were smashed.

Images published by the group also showed the windows of a home damaged in the alleged attack.

Turmus Ayya is located south of the settlement of Shiloh in the central West Bank.

Yesh Din said settlers arrived from the direction of Shiloh and vandalized the property in the northern part of the Palestinian town.

There was no immediate comment from police on the incident.

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

Incidents of vandalism against Palestinians and Israeli security forces are commonly referred to as “price tag” attacks, with perpetrators calling them retaliation for Palestinian violence or government policies seen as hostile to the settler movement.

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.

The alleged vandalism came following several clashes between Jewish settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, masked settlers and Palestinians were seen hurling stones at each other, as a group of Palestinians was harvesting olives near Turmus Ayya. The Israeli military said troops arrived at the scene to separate the sides.

The annual olive harvest season, when Palestinians go into groves on agricultural plots to collect the fruits, often sees an uptick in clashes, especially on plots near Israeli settlements or outposts.

Left-wing Israeli groups often send volunteers to help the harvest, protect Palestinians, and document crimes.