'Revenge for Benayahu': Police investigate suspected price tag attack on Palestinian village near Nablus

Residents of the Palestinian village of Awarta, southeast of Nablus in the West Bank, awoke Sunday to find their community vandalized. A building was set ablaze, vehicles were torched, and graffiti was sprayed across the village. Images obtained by Walla news showed slogans such as "Revenge 30 for Benayahu" and "Death to the enemy, freedom for the homeland," the latter being a historical slogan of the Lehi (Stern Group).

The graffiti appears to be a retaliatory act, referencing the 30 days since the murder of Capt. (res.) Benayahu Mellet and Maj. Yuval Ezra, both killed in a terror shooting attack near the Gilad Farm last month. Two other individuals were injured in that late July attack. Israel Police have launched an investigation and are preparing to enter the area with the IDF.

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Revenge 30 for Benayahu

This incident follows a pattern of escalating tensions in the region. Several days after the terror attack that killed Mellet and Ezra, clashes erupted near Nablus. A group of Israelis entered the West Bank village of Tal, near where the attack occurred, and moved toward the city's outskirts. The IDF reported that Palestinians threw stones at the Israelis, and one Israeli fired into the air, though no injuries were reported. In a separate event, Israeli civilians were reported to have vandalized a cemetery near the area.

In another incident reported on Sunday, footage circulating on social media allegedly shows Israeli settlers dragging a donkey to its death behind a tractor near Hebron. Reports suggest the donkey had been stolen from a nearby Palestinian town. The IDF had previously announced the destruction of the home of the terrorist responsible for killing Ezra and Mellet on August 11.

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Death to the enemy, freedom for the homeland