The door of a mosque in Samaria was torched in an apparent ‘price tag’ incident overnight.
The incident occurred late Thursday night in the town of Aqraba [Akraba], southeast of Shechem [Nablus] in central Samaria.
Residents found the front door of the Saada Mosque in the village burned Friday morning, and the words “Revenge” and “Price Tag” spray painted with red paint in Hebrew on several exterior walls.
Police have opened an investigation into what appears to be the first case of so-called ‘price tag’ vandalism in Samaria in months. Earlier this month, vandals targeted Arab property in Jerusalem following the murder of Adiel Kolman in the Old City of Jerusalem.
In recent years, evacuations of hilltop outpost communities and attacks by local Arabs on Jews in Judea and Samaria have prompted a string of vandalisms dubbed “price tag attacks”. The vandals have used the term “price tag” to frame their actions as a deterrent to Arab assailants and stone throwers, as well as Civil Administration officials planning to demolish Israeli-owned properties in Judea and Samaria.
Residents of Aqraba suspect last night’s incident was also an act of revenge for Adiel Kolman’s murder.
The vandalism may also be a response to a string of recent demolitions of outpost structures carried out by the Civil Administration in Samaria.