Palestinians say two homes ransacked by settlers in central West Bank
Residents of Jalud return from Friday afternoon prayers to find one house torched and another ripped apart; witnesses say Israelis from Esh Kodesh outpost seen fleeing area
Palestinians accused neighboring settlers of ransacking a pair of homes in the central West Bank village of Jalud Friday afternoon.
According to the Yesh Din rights group, Jalud locals returned from Friday afternoon prayers to find a group of Israelis fleeing in the direction of the Esh Kodesh outpost.
When Palestinians arrived at the two homes the settlers were seen scampering from, they found one of them torched and another torn apart with the flooring pulled apart, windows cracked and a bathroom looted.
The house which was set on fire had been under construction. Both homes were uninhabited at the time of the incident.
Police said they were aware of the incident, but would not say whether they were investigating it as a hate crime.
Tensions in the West Bank were particularly high Friday after a Palestinian teen from the village of Kobar snuck into the Adam settlement Thursday night and stabbed three Israelis, killing one of them.