Car tires slashed, graffiti defaces in Arab village

JERUSALEM, June 18 (UPI) -- Tires of some 28 cars were slashed and graffiti sprayed on walls in the Arab village of Abu Ghosh outside Jerusalem, officials said.

Police are investigating the incident in what appears to be an apparent hate crime and speculated the attack was racially motivated, Israel Radio reported Tuesday.

"Arabs go home," "Arabs out" and "racism or assimilation" was sprayed on walls in the village overnight Monday, The Jerusalem Post and The Times of Israel reported, describing the incident as a price tag attack. The term refers to crimes usually carried out by Jewish extremists who damage Palestinian property.

Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett condemned the attack calling it an "immoral and un-Jewish act." On his Facebook page Bennett wrote "there is a small group of malicious people who want to destroy every chance of good neighborly life between Jews and Arabs in the country." Such acts he said only serve to tarnish Israel's reputation.

The incident occurred just days after the security cabinet fell short of labeling price tag attacks acts of terrorism but approved measures enabling authorities to prosecute such attacks, The Times of Israel and The Jerusalem Post reported.