JERUSALEM (JTA) — Four Jewish men were arrested for smashing headstones at a Christian cemetery in Jerusalem in what is being called a “price tag” attack.
The men, aged 17 to 26, were caught on Sunday smashing 15 headstones with concrete blocks at the Christian cemetery at King David’s Tomb, according to reports.
Police are calling the incident nationally motivated and describe the vandalism as a price tag attack.
Price tag refers to the strategy that extremist settlers and their supporters have adopted to exact retribution for settlement freezes and demolitions or Palestinian attacks on Jews. In recent months, several Christian sites have been targeted.
Two of the men are part of the extremist Hilltop Youth and have been banned from the West Bank on previous occasions, according to Israeli media reports.
Also Sunday, two Jewish teenagers were arrested on suspicion of scratching the doors of eight Arab-owned cars parked near the Tomb of Simeon the Just in Jerusalem.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
