Tensions escalated further in the West Bank Friday morning when, just hours after two Israelis were killed in a shooting attack near Itamar, a Palestinian's vehicle was torched and a message of revenge was graffitied on a house nearby in Baytillu near Ramallah
"Revenge, Henkin," read the message on the wall in reference to Israelis Eitam and Na'ama Henkin who were killed in Thursday night's attack. Their four children were with them in the car at the time of the attack but were unharmed.
- Police requested that the owner of the house and vehicle file an official complaint so that investigations could begin to catch the culprits.
Friday morning's suspected "Price Tag" incident came after military assessments led to the deployment of four extra battalions in the West Bank overnight.
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Four new battalions in the West Bank. (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
(צילום: דובר צה"ל)
According to a source in the IDF, the extra forces were to aid in searches for the culprits of Thursday's attack and help "control" what was labeled a "very serious" situation.
Meanwhile, the burnt vehicle and threatening graffiti were not the only acts of violence directed at Palestinians in the wake of the attack that killed the Henkins.
In Beitin, a Palestinian town just north of Ramallah, a home was damaged by rocks while an additional Palestinian vehicle was also pelted with stones on route 60.
The Palestinian commander of General Intelligence in Hebron was also wounded over night when his vehicle was stoned near the intersection of Beit Furik near Nablus. The officer was evacuated to the hospital.
In the Palestinian town of Kafr ad-Dik, local residents burned tires at the main entrance to keep Jewish settlers out in fear of price tag attacks.