Tires slashed, anti-freeze graffiti daubed in J'lem's French Hill neighborhood

Tires slashed, anti-free

By ABE SELIG
Residents of Jerusalem's French Hill neighborhood awoke Tuesday morning to find the tires on their cars slashed and graffiti that read, "If our lives are frozen, your lives will be frozen, too," scrawled across area walls. According to police, right-wing activists are suspected of the vandalism, as part of the protests against the 10-month moratorium on new Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria. The bulk of the protests have been non-violent, as settlers have vowed to mount a civil disobedience campaign against the building freeze. A police spokesman told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday afternoon that the vandalism was "a serious incident that will be pursued until the suspects are arrested. We're investigating every aspect of this crime. "The damaging of civilian vehicles is viewed as a serious one by police," he added. Responding to residents' complaints, police who came to Rehov Lehi on Tuesday morning found the tires on some 20 vehicles slashed, along with additional graffiti that read, "Price Tag" and "Danger, Building Here" on nearby walls. Notes condemning the construction freeze were also found tucked under the cars' windshield wipers, and police said additional damage to the vehicles - such side-view mirrors that had been smashed off - had been reported. All of the damaged cars had yellow Israeli license plates, but because there are Arab families in French Hill, police are investigating whether the vandals were targeting Arab-owned vehicles. Later on Tuesday, Dani Dayan, chairman of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, released a statement condemning the acts. "Our fight against the freeze must be held without any violence on our part, as has been the case until now in all of our communities," the statement read. "The slashing of tires and acts of a similar nature conducted in Jerusalem are wrong and foolish," Dayan added. "They are morally illegitimate and do harm to our battle." Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.