Israelis vandalize Palestinian cars in Jerusalem amidst hate crimes

Source: Xinhua| 2018-08-19 18:14:19|Editor: xuxin
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JERUSALEM, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israelis have vandalized Palestinians' vehicles and spray-painted hate slogans in East Jerusalem in an apparent hate crime, the police said on Sunday.

A police spokesperson said in a statement that the overnight incident took place in Issawiya, a Palestinian neighborhood of East Jerusalem.

Some 15 vehicles were sabotaged and their tires were slashed, the spokesperson said. Hate slogans were widely reported in local media as a "revenge" for the killing of an Israeli woman outside the West Bank settlement of Havat Gilad in a car accident on Thursday night.

The police said an investigation was launched but no suspects have been apprehended yet.

Residents of Issawiya told Xinhua that several Jewish youths were seen in the neighborhood during the night.

The incident was the latest in a string of hate crimes carried out by ultra-nationalist Israelis in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Ultra-nationalist Israelis sabotaged eight vehicles in the village of al-Mughayyir in the central West Bank on July 30, a few days after settlers from Havat Gilad torched 150 dunams (0.15 square km) of farmland in the village of Immatin.

According to B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organization, at least 2,000 agricultural trees belonging to Palestinians, mainly olive trees and vines, were vandalized between May 1 and July 7.

Far-right Israelis have been carried out thousands of attacks over the past years. The attacks include violence against Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel and vandalism of mosques, churches, cemeteries, and personal property. Most of the incidents remain unsolved as the law enforcement authorities usually fail to arrest and charge any suspects.

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