A
mosque was set alight in the village of Tuba Zangaria overnight
Sunday in an apparent "Price Tag" attack, prompting residents to attempt
a march on nearby Rosh Pina that deteriorated into stone throwing and clashes with security forces.
Residents
of the village said that the words "Price Tag" and "Revenge" were
sprayed in the area of the mosque. The attack comes amid a recent wave
of similar attacks in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
RELATED:Analysis: September and the settler factorPalestinians report further 'price tag' attack in W. BankA group of some 300 people marched out of Tuba
in the direction of Rosh Pina with the intention of blocking major
traffic arteries. During the procession, marchers began throwing stones
toward police forces and set tires on fire.
Police forces
prevented them from reaching the main junction using crowd dispersal
means. Police pushed the demonstrators back into the
village. Large numbers of police have been deployed to the area. Northern District
Police Commander Major-General Roni Attia was engaging in dialogue with Arab community notables in
the North aimed at calming tensions.Police spokesman
Micky Rosenfeld said that "in the early hours of the morning a number of
suspects entered the mosque in the village of Tuba and caused severe
damage to the mosque's carpet and inner walls. An intensive police
investigation has been launched to track down those behind the
incident."
Police opened an investigation into the incident and Cmdr. Attia was joined by police forces at
the scene.
Last
month, police announced the formation of a special task force to track
down and arrest far-right extremists who were behind price tag incidents
in the West Bank.
"These acts are so dangerous, and harmful on a
national level. They can result in an escalation, and this is the last
thing the country needs," Police Insp.-Gen. Yohanan Danino said in September.
Since the demolition of three homes in the Migron settlement on
September 5, two mosques in the West Bank in the towns of Yatma and
Quasara were vandalized with the same graffiti. Additionally, price-tag
vandals infiltrated an army base next to the Beit-El
settlement and damaged 13 vehicles.
Two weeks ago, a left-wing
activist in Jerusalem was the recipient of one such attack, after
right-wing demonstrators spray-painted “Price Tag
Migron” on the entrance to her building in the Katamon neighborhood of
Jerusalem.
The activist, who asked not to be named, works as the head of the Settlement Watch Team for Peace Now.
“They
know where we live and they’re trying to frighten us,” she said. “We
don’t need to be frightened, we need to take it seriously and be
careful, but not be afraid.”
The vandals also wrote “Peace Now,
the end is near,” “Revenge,” “Migron Forever” and “Death to traitors” up
the stairwell of the building. The graffiti was cleaned after police
investigated the scene.
“There are other peace activists and
other army commanders who got the same graffiti, so I’m in good
company,” she joked on Tuesday.
Melanie Lidman contributed to this report.