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A boy stands near a burnt car in the Qusra near Nablus, Feb. 21. (MaanImages/file)
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RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- A group of settlers torched three Palestinian cars in the Ramallah village of Burqa on Thursday, locals said.

Witnesses told Ma'an that settlers raided the village overnight and set fire to the vehicles. Locals could not contain the fires and all three vehicles were destroyed.

Two cars belonged to Netham Ali Maatan and the third vehicle to Muhammad Maatan.

Before fleeing the scene, settlers spray-painted "The redemption of Zion (Geulat Zion) loves Tomer Hazan" on the wall of the village mosque, in reference to an Israeli soldier killed in Qalqiliya in September.

An AFP correspondent said graffiti reading "Death to Arabs" was also found at the scene.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP that "a number of suspects went into the village of Burqa" east of Ramallah, "and attempted to set fire to three vehicles".

"Graffiti was found at the scene," he said.

Israeli forces and police arrived on the scene and have opened an investigation.

On Wednesday, dozens of settlers set fire to agricultural land in Nablus and attacked students at a local school.

Settler violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank is routine. Israeli forces, who have an obligation as an occupying force to protect Palestinians, rarely anticipate or prevent attacks from taking place.

AFP contributed to this report