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Photo:
Scene. File photo. Published by Maan News.
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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers vandalized Palestinian-owned vehicles and spray painted racist, anti-Arab slogans, on Friday, in the Beit Iksa village, in the central occupied West Bank district of Jerusalem.

According to local sources, Israeli settlers spray painted racist, anti-Arab slogans, including threats, on the neighborhood walls in the village and on many vehicles.

Sources added that Israeli settlers punctured the tires of a number of Palestinian-owned vehicles.

Sources mentioned that the Israeli settlers also targeted the local mosque and spray painted anti-Arab slogans on its walls, in addition the settlers attempted to set it on fire.

Although Beit Iksa is located immediately next to Jerusalem, the village's lands have been progressively confiscated and the village is surrounded on all sides by the Israeli separation wall. Villagers can no longer travel to Jerusalem without permits, and Palestinians not resident in Beit Iksa cannot enter the single Israeli checkpoint that allows access to the village.

Ninety-three percent of the village is under full Israeli military control, and a majority of the total land of the village falls in areas outside of the separation wall, meaning they have been de facto confiscated, including about 1,500 dunams (371 acres) where Jewish-only settlements have been built.