“Israeli settlers in the West Bank vandalized an Israel Defense Forces base on Wednesday, carrying out a “price tag” operation against the army for the first time since adopting the policy in recent years”
“Unknown perpetrators infiltrated a base in the Binyamin region and snuck their way to a mechanics workshop on site, where they slashed the tires and cut the cables of 12 army vehicles.”
“The vandals sprayed the word “price tag” on the walls, as well as other graffiti referring to the three illegal homes demolished by the IDF in the outpost of Migron on Monday.”
This is the second price tag incident this week in the Occupied Territories, following an act of arson against a mosque near Nablus earlier in the week. Ostensibly, the tactic is a form of retaliation against percieved Palestinian threats to the settlers, but, for the most part, the acts of vandalism, arson and assault that constitute “price tagging” follow unpopular Israeli government actions in the West Bank, such as the demolition of settler homes built without proper permits and construction halts (which are sometimes the result of legal challenges brough forward by human rights groups).
This first-of-its-kind “price tagging” comes at an time when the IDF is arming and training settlers in the Occupied Territories to prepare for possible Palestinian demonstrations in response to the Palestinian Authority’s UN recognition bid. The IDF fully expects the demonstrations to turn into “mass disorder,” while Palestinian leaders assert that they are nonviolent protest marches.
