Mosque torched near Bethlehem in suspected hate crime
Perpetrators spray the word 'revenge' and other slogans in Hebrew alongside a Star of David on nearby wall
In this file photo a Palestinian looks at Hebrew graffiti sprayed on the walls of a mosque on 7 April 2013 in the West Bank village of Tuqua. PHOTO: AFP
BETHLEHEM:
A West Bank mosque was set alight in a village near Bethlehem on Tuesday with anti-Arab slogans in Hebrew sprayed on a nearby wall, Palestinian witnesses said.
The fire was discovered in the mosque in Jaba village at around 4am. Villagers managed to put it out but there was some damage to the building, the witnesses said.
Read: West Bank mosque torched in suspected revenge attack
On a nearby wall, the perpetrators had sprayed the word "revenge" and other slogans in Hebrew alongside a Star of David, with witnesses saying it was believed to be the work of hardline Jewish settlers.
The village is located 10 kilometres southwest of Bethlehem, close to Gush Etzion, a cluster of Jewish settlements.
Read: Palestine opens its first embassy in western Europe
Police spokesperson Luba Samri confirmed the Palestinians had filed a complaint about the torching of a mosque in Jaba and said the police unit for nationalistic crime would investigate.
Read: Gaza war pushed Palestinian economy into recession: IMF
The attack and accompanying graffiti bore the hallmarks of a so-called "price tag" attack -- a euphemism for nationalistically motivated hate crime by Jewish extremists which generally targets Palestinians or Arab Israelis.
A West Bank mosque was set alight in a village near Bethlehem on Tuesday with anti-Arab slogans in Hebrew sprayed on a nearby wall, Palestinian witnesses said.
The fire was discovered in the mosque in Jaba village at around 4am. Villagers managed to put it out but there was some damage to the building, the witnesses said.
Read: West Bank mosque torched in suspected revenge attack
On a nearby wall, the perpetrators had sprayed the word "revenge" and other slogans in Hebrew alongside a Star of David, with witnesses saying it was believed to be the work of hardline Jewish settlers.
The village is located 10 kilometres southwest of Bethlehem, close to Gush Etzion, a cluster of Jewish settlements.
Read: Palestine opens its first embassy in western Europe
Police spokesperson Luba Samri confirmed the Palestinians had filed a complaint about the torching of a mosque in Jaba and said the police unit for nationalistic crime would investigate.
Read: Gaza war pushed Palestinian economy into recession: IMF
The attack and accompanying graffiti bore the hallmarks of a so-called "price tag" attack -- a euphemism for nationalistically motivated hate crime by Jewish extremists which generally targets Palestinians or Arab Israelis.