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by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies

The Israeli Police revealed Wednesday [June 12 2013] that Israeli settlers carried out 165 Price Tag attacks against the Palestinians and their property, in the West Bank, and in the 1948 territories since the beginning of this year.

The statement came during a session that was held by the Interior Committee of the Israeli Knesset to discuss increasing attacks carried out by the settlers.

Arab Member of Knesset (MK) Mohammad Barakeh, Secretary General of the Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash), requested the session.

MK Jamal Zahalka, MK Masud Ghanayim, and representatives of the Israeli Police and prosecutor’s office also attended the Knesset session, in addition to representatives of the Ministry of Interior and several other officials.

Lawyer Nidal Otham, head of the Advocacy Center for Arab Citizens In Israel (Mossawa Center), head of the Coalition Against Racism in Israel, also attended the session, and stated the Legal Advisor of the Israeli government, and the Prosecutor’s Office, are not acting on uprooting racism by “failing to investigate and indict officials who openly incite against the Arabs.”

Othman added that extremist Israelis settler youth groups “translate this incitement into action”, due to the lack of adequate measures by the police.

Meanwhile, the Police claimed that it apprehended 67 suspects, and filed indictments against 31 of them.

Price Tag attacks are carried out by extremist settlers against the Palestinians and their property in different parts of occupied Palestine, and in some cases targeted Israeli peace groups and leftist organizations.

The attacks include burning, attempting to burn and defacing several mosques and churches, in addition to vandalizing Islamic and Christian graveyards, and writing racist graffiti.

Extremist settlers also attacked Palestinian farmers, burnt and uprooted hundreds of Palestinian trees and farmlands.

The most recent attack was carried out on Friday [June 7 2013], when extremist settlers burnt a Palestinian car in Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood, in occupied East Jerusalem.