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Israeli settlers deface mosque in rampage through West Bank village

Associated Press
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A Palestinian woman stands next to a vandalized mosque in the West Bank village of Burka, near Ramallah, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. The Hebrew graffiti reads, "Redemption of Zion, I love Tomer Hazan." Hazan was an Israeli soldier killed by a Palestinian in a West Bank village in September 2013. Palestinian residents of the village said that masked Jewish settlers torched three cars and defaced a mosque during an overnight attack. (AP Photo/Majdi Mohammed) (The Associated Press)

A Palestinian man inspects a burned vehicle in the village of Burka, east of the West Bank city of Ramallah, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2013. Palestinian residents of the village said masked Jewish settlers torched three cars and defaced a mosque during an overnight attack. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser) (The Associated Press)

An Israeli policeman walks by a damaged car inside a schoolyard in the West Bank village of Jaloud, near Nablus, Wednesday, Oct .9, 2013. Residents of the village said that masked Jewish settlers burst into the school, vandalized cars and torched olive trees during a rampage that forced schoolchildren to remain locked in classrooms to keep safe. (AP Photo/Nasser Ishtayeh) (The Associated Press)

Palestinian residents of as West Bank village say masked Jewish settlers torched three cars and defaced a mosque during an overnight attack.

Nizam Ali, a resident of Burka, says he woke up around 1 a.m. Thursday and saw five masked settlers setting his car on fire. He says one of the settlers had a rifle.

The settlers also spraypainted the phrase, "Redemption of Zion, I love Tomer Hazan" on the wall of the village mosque. Hazan was an Israeli soldier recently abducted and killed by a Palestinian acquaintance.

Extremist settlers in the West Bank frequently rampage through Palestinian villages. Israeli authorities have had little success catching the perpetrators.

Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the attack is being investigated as a "criminal act with nationalistic motives."