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Photos:
Scene. Published by Maan News
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JERUSALEM (Ma'an) -- Israeli settlers sprayed racist graffiti in the Beit Hanina town, north of occupied East Jerusalem, on predawn Thursday.

Locals told Ma'an that Israeli settlers raided the al-Gharableh neighborhood of the town, adjacent to the Pisgat Zeev illegal Israeli settlement and sprayed graffiti calling for killing Arabs.

Israeli settlers also punctured the tires of dozens of Palestinian-owned vehicles.

Earlier this year, the Shin Bet, Israel's internal intelligence agency, reported a spike in Israeli hate crimes against Palestinians in 2018.

Many Palestinian activists and rights groups have accused Israel of fostering a "culture of impunity" for Israelis committing violent acts against Palestinians.

Known as "price tag" attacks, extremist Israeli settlers use violent acts of retribution on Palestinians and their property to demonstrate their opposition to Israeli restrictions on settlements and their outposts in the occupied West Bank.

Between 500,000 and 600,000 Israelis live in Jewish-only settlements across occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank in violation of international law, with recent announcements of settlement expansion provoking condemnation from the international community.