Settler teen arrested for W. Bank mosque arson

17-year-old suspected of taking part in “price tag” arson attack in Jab’a, south of Ramallah in June.

By BEN HARTMAN
Price Tag attack on Jab'a village mosque 370 (photo credit: Iad Hadad/BTzelem)
Price Tag attack on Jab'a village mosque 370
(photo credit: Iad Hadad/BTzelem)
Judea and Samaria district police on Sunday arrested a 17-year-old settler they suspect took part in the “price tag” arson attack on a mosque in Jab’a, south of Ramallah, on June 19.
The boy was arrested at Lake Kinneret (the Sea of Galilee) where he was vacationing with his family.
Police detained two other youths last month in connection to the crime. Both were released due to insufficient evidence.
The arsonists at the Jab’a mosque spray-painted the words “Ulpana War” on a wall of the mosque, a reference to the contested outpost next to Beit El. The reference to Beit El led police to view the incident as a price-tag attack, the name given to acts of violence or vandalism committed to protest Israeli government actions against settlements.
The vandalism drew criticism from Israel Police Insp.- Gen. Yohanan Danino, who called price-tag attacks “a grave and explosive phenomenon, which has consequences for the wider public.”
Danino instructed officers to employ all the resources necessary to find those responsible for the attack.
The attack also drew criticism from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak.
The attack came shortly after vandals slashed tires and spray-painted cars at the Jewish- Arab village of Neveh Shalom, and vandalized cars belonging to Arabs in the Shuafat refugee camp in east Jerusalem.