Extremists Vandalize Cars in Northern West Bank

Suspected Jewish extremists slashed the tires of cars in a northern West Bank village and scrawled Hebrew graffiti on a nearby wall, Palestinians and Israelis said on Monday.

Hafez Abu Obaya, head of the Yasuf council, told Agence France Presse the incident had taken place overnight Sunday, saying: "Settlers wrote 'price tag' on a wall and punctured the tires of three cars nearby."

He said the attack took place as the Israeli "army raided four houses and arrested a man in his early 20s."

A police spokeswoman confirmed to AFP three cars had their tires burst in the village located south of Nablus and that the words "Price tag (for) stone terror" were scrawled on a nearby wall, in what appeared to be a reference to Palestinian stonethrowing incidents targeting settler vehicles in the West Bank.

Price tag is a euphemism for revenge hate crimes by Israeli extremists.

They are often carried out as an act of retaliation for official Israeli moves to dismantle settler outposts, and tend to target Palestinian property.

A military spokeswoman could not immediately confirm the presence of soldiers in the village nor reports of an arrest.