On the morning of Tuesday, June 7, 2011 the residents of the Palestinian village of el-Mughayer, in the West Bank, headed to morning prayers at the local mosque. What they found there below the fold.
With black smoke billowing out of the mosque, the villagers ran inside to discover that a tire had been set on fire. The fire had burned prayer rugs, but thankfully had not spread too much. Along the walls was scrolled graffiti reading "Price Tag - Aley Ayin".
"Price Tag" is the name of the self-declared Jewish settler policy of attacking Palestinian homes and people in response to Israeli government actions against settlers or their settlements. "Aley Ayin" was the name of a small unauthorized settlement evacuated by the Israeli government a week earlier. Based on the graffiti, and the similarity between the mosque attack and other "Price Tag" actions, it is suspected that Jewish settlers committed this crime. This heinous "policy" is not new.
From the Times Online (in 2009):
“It’s quite simple and smart but evil,” said Michael Sfard, a lawyer with the Israeli human rights group Yesh Din. “They attack Palestinian property, people, and blockade roads every time the Israeli security forces do something they don’t like” — such as demolish outposts.
So what is the point of this "policy" of the settlers? Why attack the Palestinians, instead of the Israeli forces who are moving against them? From the same article:
Many settlers in the West Bank are religious hardliners who believe that they are fulfilling a biblical prophecy by taking over the land that they call Judaea and Samaria.
So, by attacking the Palestinians, they are getting what they consider satisfactory revenge, since they are not able to stand up to the Israeli military or police, and at the same time advancing their ultimate goal of reclaiming "Judaea and Samaria" by wiping out any Palestinian presence there...or at the least, making it very uncomfortable and dangerous for Palestinians to stay in the area.
Some more examples of "Price Tag" violence against Palestinians this year:
On February 28, 2011, settlers threw Molotov cocktails into Palestinan homes and cars in Nablus. Two people were injured, and the house was partially destroyed.
Also February 28, 2011, a settler ran down an 11 year old girl on her way to school near Beit Ainum.
On March 1, 2011, settlers smashed the windshields of dozens of Palestinian cars, blocked streets, burned tires, and hurled Molotov cocktails.
Also March 1, 2011, a settler ran down a 5 year old boy, leaving the boy lying in the street.
To his credit, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned each act of violence, including Tuesday mornings attack. “People cannot take the law into their own hands, that is not their job,” he said. “We don’t have private militias,” he added. “I unequivocally reject this concept and those who break the law will be dealt with accordingly,” Netanyahu said.
The problem is, as is often the case, Bibi is speaking empty words. Some of the worst "Price Tag" violence has been committed under the watchful eye of the IDF. Soldiers have even participated in the violence.
The soldiers reportedly destroyed property, stole money, defecated on the floors of homes, and blindfolded and beat residents, leaving one 28-year-old man so badly injured he had to be smuggled to a hospital in Nablus. Afterwards, approximately 300 masked settlers descended on the town and attacked its residents, breaking the arms of two men.
Stopping such violence may be politically risky for Netanyahu, because a poll conducted found that 46% of Jewish Israeli's supported the "Price Tag" terror tactic. But politically risky or not, action must be taken to stop these attacks and punish all of those responsible, whether they are a settler or an IDF soldier. Terrorism and extremism must be confronted and defeated, whatever the ethnicity or religious belief of the culprit.
Settlers attack Palestinian schoolgirls on their way to school.