Israeli extremists vandalise Palestinian properties, paint racist graffiti in 1948 town of Kafr Qasim

Israeli extremists set fire to cars and spray-painted racist graffiti onto walls in a Palestinian town within Israel’s 1948 borders in the early hours of Friday, according to the official Palestinian Wafa news agency.

The vandalism in the town of Kafr Qasim was reportedly carried out by the so-called 'Price Tag' group, an extremist collective that attacks Palestinians living in Israel and occupied East Jerusalem.

جماعة تدفيع الثمن الاستيطانية تعتدي على ممتلكات الفلسطينيين في بلدة كفر قاسم بالداخل المحتل وتحرق سيارات وتخط شعارات عنصرية..

الاحتلال الصهيوني الذي يطلق يد مستوطنيه وشرطته للاعتداء على شعبنا ومقدساتنا هو من يتحمل المسؤولية عن تفجير الأوضاع.. pic.twitter.com/QJEpGQbRa5

— أدهم أبو سلمية #غزة 🇵🇸 (@adham922) April 7, 2023

The group also carries out acts of vandalism against Muslim and Christian places of worship and cemeteries. The Israeli Shin Bet secret service estimates that the group has close to 3,000 members.

The town of Kafr Qasim has witnessed similar attacks from the Price Tag group in recent years.

In February last year, mobs slashed car tires belonging to Palestinians in the town and sprayed racist anti-Arab slogans on properties. A similar incident also occurred in March 2021, according to the Wafa.

The rampage comes as Israeli forces carried out a number of brutal raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound this week, injuring hundreds as they used stun grenades, rubber bullets and batons to expel mostly Palestinian worshippers from the holy site.

Israel escalated its aggression further on Thursday by firing rockets into southern Lebanon and the besieged Gaza Strip, after rockets were fired into Israel from both territories.

Palestinians within Israel have shown solidarity with those in the occupied territories and Gaza this week by taking to the streets.

Hundreds of Palestinians living in the 1948 towns of Nazareth, Umm al-Fahm and Sakhnin demonstrated against Tel Aviv’s aggression on Thursday. A number of them were assaulted and arrested by Israeli police, The New Arab’s Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

Palestinians make up 20 percent of Israel's population and face systematic discrimination in many aspects of everyday life such as housing, employment and education. Palestinian citizens of Israel have also long accused Israeli police of neglecting their community.