Suspected Jewish extremists attack Palestinian goatherd, start fires

A group of masked suspected Jewish extremists attacked a young Palestinian woman as she tended a flock of goats in the central West Bank on Thursday, police said.

The culprits, who have yet to be identified, stabbed the goats, killing some, before setting fire to nearby bushes as they made their escape, according to police.

The incident occurred at approximately 9 a.m. on the outskirts of two Jewish settlements, Rimonim and Kochav Hashahar, located northeast of Ramallah.

At that time, the Palestinian woman was tending her goats outside the nearby village of Ramun when she “noticed that a number of masked men had come up to her flock and started attacking it,” police said in a statement.

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According to Palestinian news agency Maan, the men stabbed 11 goats before they fled the scene, starting the fire as they ran.

חשד לפשע שנאה: 8 מתנחלים הגיעו לעדר סמוך לרימונים והחלו לדקור את הכבשים. כבשה נהרגה ו-10 נפצעו. @RoySharon10 pic.twitter.com/SO4yMANoPw

— חדשות 13 (@newsisrael13) August 4, 2016

The blaze kept the woman from being able to alert Israeli authorities for several hours, police said.

Palestinian media also reported the young woman was lightly injured in the attack, but Israeli sources could not confirm the claim.

Given the proximity to the settlements and the other “general circumstances” of the case, police suspect Jewish extremists were responsible for the attack, a police spokesperson said, and police have opened an investigation.

Hate-crime attacks by Jewish extremists against Palestinians are often referred to as “price tag” incidents, as they are meant to represent the “cost” for perceived state action against the settlement movement.