Police investigating suspected settler hate crime in Palestinian village

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Illustrative: Israeli security forces in Kfar Qaddum, near the West Bank city of Nablus, October 7, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)
Illustrative: Israeli security forces in Kfar Qaddum, near the West Bank city of Nablus, October 7, 2022. (Nasser Ishtayeh/Flash90)

Police say they have launched an investigation into a suspected hate crime in a West Bank Palestinian village overnight.

Palestinian media outlets reported that vehicles were set alight in the village of Urif, near both Nablus and the settlement of Yitzhar, possibly by extremist settlers.

The suspected hate crime came shortly after an Israeli car was targeted by Palestinian gunmen in the area.

Police say officers have entered the village to collect evidence as part of an investigation.

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.

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