Settlers vandalize six Palestinian cars, Nablus area mayor says

“What happened does not serve Palestinian or Israeli interests and it is essential that we see the authorities take real action.”

By ADAM RASGON
Updated: FEBRUARY 14, 2018 18:10
A car in Jit that was allegedly vandalized by settlers. (photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
A car in Jit that was allegedly vandalized by settlers.
(photo credit: ISRAEL POLICE)
A group of four settlers on Tuesday vandalized six cars in Jit, a Palestinian village in the northern West Bank, spray painting them with the words “death to Arabs” and “transfer now,” a local Palestinian official said.
Pictures shared on social media show several cars in Jit, near Nablus, with Hebrew graffiti spray painted on them and their tires slashed.

“Our surveillance cameras make clear that the settlers came at 3 a.m. and vandalized our cars,” Jit Mayor Jamal al-Yamin told The Jerusalem Post. “The cameras also show that the car the settlers drove into our village has an Israeli license plate.”
Israeli cars have yellow license plates, whereas Palestinian cars have white plates. However, Palestinians sometimes own cars with yellow license plates.
The Israeli Police came to Jit to investigate what happened and collect the surveillance cameras, according to Yamin.
A West Bank Police spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.
Yamin said he hopes the Israeli authorities will bring the perpetrators to justice.
“We call on the Israelis to carry out a serious investigation, bring the perpetrators to justice and ensure compensation for the car owners,” he said. “What happened does not serve Palestinian or Israeli interests and it is essential that we see the authorities take real action.”
Samaria Council spokeswoman Esther Aloush did not respond to a request for comment.
Zakaria Sede, a Rabbis for Human Rights field worker who resides in Jit, said that he was surprised to learn about the vandalism.
“We rarely see these types of things happening in our village,” he said in phone call.
In the past five weeks, two settlers were killed in terrorist attacks in the Nablus area.