RAMALLAH, April 13, 2018 (WAFA) – Suspected Israeli settlers early Friday scrawled racist graffiti on exterior walls of some homes and punctured the tires of some 40 vehicles in Burqa village, east of Ramallah, said a municipal source.

Mayor of Burqa Adnan Barakat said that “scores” of Israeli settlers from a nearby post stormed the village, where they scrawled “provocative” and “racist” graffiti on the exterior walls of some homes, threatening to kill and expel the Palestinian villagers.

He added that they also punctured the tires of 45 vehicles in the village before they fled the scene.

Settlers reportedly scrawled “Supporters of terror, expel or kill” in Hebrew.

This is the fourth time that settlers vandalize Palestinian property and spray-paint threatening graffiti this week.

The Israeli government still refuses to label such anti-Palestinian acts of vandalism and violence as terrorist acts, but only considers them as hate crimes against Palestinians.

Settler violence against Palestinians and their property is routine in the West Bank and is rarely prosecuted by Israeli authorities.

Settlers‘ violence includes property and mosque arsons, stone-throwing, uprooting of crops and olive trees, attacks on vulnerable homes, among others.

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.

All settlements across the West Bank are illegal under international law, particularly article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which establishes that the occupying power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies.

K.F.