Molotov cocktails thrown at Palestinian home in suspected 'price tag' attack

Attack comes amid increase in West Bank violence; no injuries reported, property sustains minor damage.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
molotov in hand 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
molotov in hand 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Unknown assailants threw two Molotov cocktails in a suspected "price tag" attack Tuesday at a home in the Palestinian village of Burin, south of Nablus, , Israel Radio reported.
Minor property damage was sustained, but no injuries reported.
The IDF was investigating the matter. Authorities had not arrested any suspects as of Tuesday morning.
In the past few months an increase in "price tag" attacks has been occurring, and last month Israel Radio cited security forces as saying they saw such incidents as threatening to destabilize the West Bank.
Israeli police patrols have been stepped up to prevent and respond to these serious incidents, which have caused tremendous damage not only to the intended targets, but also to the communities where they took place,” Rosenfeld said. In May, Army Radio reported a sharp increase in cases of harassment by Jews against Arabs, citing over 180 incidents since January, compared to 200 in all of 2012.
In response, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Attorney- General Yehuda Weinstein held a meeting that same month to discuss the growing problem, along with representatives from the IDF, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and the State Attorney’s Office.
A statement issued by Livni’s and Aharonovitch’s offices said that they and Weinstein “see eye to eye on the need for more serious steps to be taken [against perpetrators] of such attacks,” adding that they “see the severity of price-tag attacks seeping into Israel, and the danger inherent in damaging relations with Arab-Israelis.”
Participants at the meeting discussed harsher steps to deter such incidents, including legally defining “price-tag” crimes as acts of terror, according to sources.
In the past, Weinstein opposed such a legal definition, but according to sources, he is weighing the option of shifting that opinion, given that the legal deterrents available to police have not been sufficient to halt these crimes.
In June, shortly after an attack in Beit Hanina, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu denounced the phenomenon, stating that the government will “act with a strong hand against” such crimes in the future.
Daniel K. Eisenbud contributed to this report.