‘Wake up Jews, fight the enemy’: Arab Israeli town Kafr Qasim targeted in hate crime
Tires slashed on 20 vehicles and a number of walls graffitied in central town; Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej condemns ‘hooligans’
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Residents of the central city of Kafr Qasim discovered cars vandalized and walls graffitied with an offensive slogan in a suspected hate crime on Monday morning.
“Wake up Jews, fight the enemy” was graffitied on several walls and around 20 vehicles had their tires slashed.
Meretz MK and Regional Cooperation Minister Esawi Frej condemned the attack, sharing pictures of the damage.
“Once again hooligans entered Kafr Qasim, damaged, destroyed and left. The same method, the same location, the same result,” the lawmaker tweeted.
There was no immediate comment from the police on the matter.
A similar incident took place in Kafr Qasim last year when dozens of cars had their tires punctured and a number of vehicles were graffitied.
שוב פעם החוליגנים נכנסו לכפר קאסם, פגעו, הרסו ויצאו. אותה שיטה, אותו מקום, אותה תוצאה.
"כל איש הישר בעיניו יעשה". pic.twitter.com/GObDUcIwZ3
— ???? Esawi Frej عيساوي فريج עיסאווי פריג (@EsawiFr) February 7, 2022
Anti-Arab vandalism by Jewish extremists has become a common occurrence in the West Bank but is rarer inside Israel.
Incidents of vandalism and attacks against Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank are commonly referred to as “price tag” attacks, with perpetrators claiming they are retaliation for Palestinian violence or government policies seen as hostile to the settler movement.
Arrests of perpetrators have been exceedingly rare and rights groups lament that convictions are even more unusual, with the majority of charges in such cases being dropped.
However, on Monday morning, police said they had arrested one person and detained two others in connection with a recent violent incident in the West Bank, which public broadcaster Kan identified as an attack on left-wing activists last month that left six injured.
The Times of Israel Community.