Israeli security coordinator for West Bank settlement detained for 'vandalising Palestinian property'

An Israeli responsible for security at the illegal Gilad settlement in the occupied West Bank was arrested on Tuesday, accused of vandalising Palestinian property, Israeli media reported.

Yair Oppenheimer was arrested on suspicion of spraying racist graffiti and slashing tires in the Palestinian village of Farata on Monday night, and is accused of impeding a police investigation into the incident, according to the Haaretz newspaper.

The graffiti sprayed across a Palestinian home read: "Your day will come, regards from the people of Israel."

 The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court extended Oppenheimer's detention until Friday - a decision which the defendant's lawyer Avichai Hajbi appealed - according to Haaretz.

"[Oppenheimer] noticed three figures who aroused his suspicion, and subsequently called the army to the scene," Hajbi said.

Colonel Roi Zweig, commander of the Israeli Army's Samaria Regional Brigade, which is responsible for the Gilad settlement, defended Oppenheimer's "professionalism" in court and said he reported the incident to the military.

This came after two Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank on Tuesday.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the victims as Nader Rayan, a 17-year-old from the Balatah refugee camp in Nablus, and Alaa Shaham, a 20-year-old from the Qalandia refugee camp located north of Jerusalem.

Three Palestinians, two of them teenagers, were also killed in Israeli raids in the West Bank earlier this month. 

In February, "our land for our people" was reportedly sprayed across walls in the Palestinian village of As-Sawiya.