Minister: Latest 'price tag' attack 'despicable.'

In Abu Ghosh, Aharonovitch vows police will fight ‘price tag terrorism’; Jerusalem police make investigation a priority.

By BEN HARTMAN
Aharonovitch 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski/The Jerusalem Post))
Aharonovitch 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski/The Jerusalem Post))
“Price tag” attacks are acts of terrorism and Israeli police will do everything within their capability to fight them, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch said Saturday, during a visit to the village of Abu Ghosh outside Jerusalem.
“The village of Abu Ghosh is a symbol of coexistence that has lasted years. I hope that these despicable and dark acts done this week will not damage these relations. In my opinion these acts are terrorism and I have said everywhere, and I repeat it, that the Israel police will continue to invest great resources in order to fight these acts, together with the Shin Bet [Israel Security Agency].”
Aharonovitch visited the village along with Jerusalem Police head Asst.-Ch. Yossi Pariente. During the visit, the two men met with residents and leaders of the local council.
The village was the site of a “price tag” attack last week in which 28 cars had tires slashed and anti-Arab graffiti was spray-painted on cars and walls in the village, including “Arabs get out.”
During the meeting, Pariente told local leaders and residents that Jerusalem police view such incidents with the utmost severity and have put fighting such acts at the top of their priorities.