Suspected Jewish Extremists 'Vandalize Arab Israeli Cars'

Suspected Jewish extremists have slashed the tires of around 40 cars in an Arab village in northern Israel, police said Thursday.

The attack took place overnight in Jish, a predominately Christian village some 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the Sea of Galilee, police spokeswoman Luba Samri said.

"This morning in Jish, it was discovered that almost 40 vehicles had had their tyres slashed," she told Agence France Presse, saying police had opened an investigation.

Written in Hebrew on a nearby wall were the words: "Only Gentiles (non-Jews) should be removed from our land," she said, describing it as a suspected "price tag" incident.

"Price tag" is a euphemism for a politically motivated hate crimes usually attributed to Jewish extremists, who leave trademark offensive Hebrew graffiti at the scene.

Although the attacks initially targeted Palestinians and their property in response to state-sponsored moves against unauthorized settlement outposts, the scope has expanded considerably to become a much-more generalized expression of racism against non-Jews.

On Tuesday, a Roman Catholic convent west of Jerusalem was vandalized by suspected extremists who sprayed offensive graffiti on the walls and damaged five nearby cars, prompting a sharp condemnation from the church leadership.

And last week, suspected Jewish extremists slashed the tires of more than 40 cars in Arab east Jerusalem, spraying another similar slogan on a nearby wall reading: "Gentiles in the land are enemies."

Another two incidents took placed in February when another 50 or so cars were vandalized in other parts of east Jerusalem.