Israel Defense Force soldier linked to "Muhammad is a pig" vandalism on West Bank wall

GlobalPost

An Israel Defense Force solder admitted his involvement in a vandalism attack in which "Muhammad is a pig" was written on a wall in a Palestinian West Bank village, Haaretz reported today.The soldier was arrested with two other women Thursday for their suspected role in the "price tag" attack.

Haaretz obtained security footage that shows one of the female suspects walking by the wall where the vandalism occurred. In the video, the woman is stabbing sacks of construction material.  

Haaretz said the three are suspected of entering the West Bank village at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday before vandalizing the area. A fight then broke out between the three suspects and local residents, "during which the IDF soldier threatened the Palestinians with his rifle," Haaretz said.

The soldier, a resident of the Itamar settlement, was arrested along with Tapuach resident Sarah Goldberg and Jerusalem resident Orien Nizri, who Haaretz says is known for her West Bank activism. Haaretz did not provide the name of the soldier but said he is part of the Golani Brigade. 

Israelis and Palestinians are struggling with the recent rise of "price tag" attacks carried out by right-wing extremists. On Thursday, a group of vandals sprayed “No leftists, no terror attacks," on the building of Peace Now Jerusalem, an organization that opposes Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The Jerusalem Post reported that the attack marks the fifth time this year that Peace Now has been targeted by vandals. 

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