West Bank Vehicle Torched in 'Price Tag' Attack

Suspected Jewish extremists have torched a vehicle in a West Bank village and scrawled Hebrew graffiti on a nearby wall, Palestinians and Israelis said on Tuesday.

Another car was lightly damaged, according to the army, in the incident at Deir Jarir village, north-east of the city of Ramallah.

"All the indications are that settlers torched a car and tried to set fire to another," village council chief Imad Alawi told Agence France Presse.

"They wrote racist slogans in Hebrew," he said.

The slogans "Price tag", "Jewish blood is not worthless!" and "Tapuah is Kahane!" were spray-painted on a nearby wall.

Tapuah is a West Bank settlement known for its hardline residents and frequent confrontations with Palestinian neighbors. Last week, a 17-year-old Jewish teen was stabbed by a Palestinian not far from Tapuah.

Kahane refers to Meir Kahane, the late founder of an extremist anti-Arab Jewish movement.

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

Initially carried out in retaliation for Israeli moves to dismantle unauthorized settler outposts, the attacks tend to target Palestinian property. The perpetrators are rarely caught.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli army said that following Palestinian reports, "security personnel searched the area and found one burnt car and one damaged car. Grafitti was also discovered in the area. The incident was under review."

"These actions, which divert IDF (Israel Defense Forces) attention from its primary goal of maintaining security and stability are regarded as a severe event by the IDF," she added.