</head> <body> JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel approved new measures on Sunday against Jewish ultranationalists who vandalise Palestinian property in a drive to mire security forces in sectarian violence in the occupied West Bank. Saying they sought to avenge attacks on Jewish settlers, the vandals have torched and spray-painted Palestinian mosques and cars and chopped olive trees in so-called "Price Tag" raids. Churches and Arab property inside Israel have also been hit. With their potential for upending the West Bank's relative quiet should Palestinians strike back, and for discouraging any future Israeli evacuation of unapproved settlements, the incidents worry Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightist government. But arrests and prosecutions have been rare. Netanyahu's security cabinet said in a statement it had empowered the Defence Ministry to designate "Price Tag" vandals as members of "illicit organisations", which would in turn "significantly expand the investigative and prosecutorial tools available to the security forces and law-enforcement". The statement did not elaborate. An official told Reuters the decision would could effectively bring Israel's handling of Price Tag suspects into line with its crackdowns on Palestinian militants, entailing longer detentions and jail sentences as well as more intrusive surveillance and interrogations. The Justice Ministry was separately seeking parliamentary ratification defining Price Tag attacks as "terrorism", alongside Palestinian and other politically motivated attacks on Israelis, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Alison Williams) </body> </html> </DataContent> </ContentItem> </NewsComponent> </NewsComponent> </NewsItem> </NewsML>

%xhtml; ]> 20130616T202403+0000 reuters.com 20130616 RTROPT_2013-06-16_20-24-03_BRE95F0GE 1 urn:newsml:reuters.com:20130616:RTROPT_2013-06-16_20-24-03_BRE95F0GE:1 2013-06-16 20:24:03 GMT+00:00 20130616T202403+0000 20130616T202403+0000 OLRTXT Online Report text item JUDIC 02002000 Judicial Process / Court Cases / Court Decisions LAW 02000000 Lawmaking VIO 16003000 Civil Unrest CRIM 02000000 Crime SECUR 11001002 International / National Security IL Israel MEAST Middle East PS Palestinian Territories BRE95F0GE Bangalore IN India 2013-06-16T202403Z_1_BRE95F0GE_RTROPTT_0_OUKWD-UK-PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL-VANDALS.XML Israel toughens law against anti-Palestinian vandals Bangalore India16 June 2013 REUTERS (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp OUKWD-UK-PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL-VANDALS OUKWD-UK-PALESTINIANS-ISRAEL-VANDALS:Israel toughens law against anti-Palestinian vandals </head> <body> JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel approved new measures on Sunday against Jewish ultranationalists who vandalise Palestinian property in a drive to mire security forces in sectarian violence in the occupied West Bank. Saying they sought to avenge attacks on Jewish settlers, the vandals have torched and spray-painted Palestinian mosques and cars and chopped olive trees in so-called "Price Tag" raids. Churches and Arab property inside Israel have also been hit. With their potential for upending the West Bank's relative quiet should Palestinians strike back, and for discouraging any future Israeli evacuation of unapproved settlements, the incidents worry Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rightist government. But arrests and prosecutions have been rare. Netanyahu's security cabinet said in a statement it had empowered the Defence Ministry to designate "Price Tag" vandals as members of "illicit organisations", which would in turn "significantly expand the investigative and prosecutorial tools available to the security forces and law-enforcement". The statement did not elaborate. An official told Reuters the decision would could effectively bring Israel's handling of Price Tag suspects into line with its crackdowns on Palestinian militants, entailing longer detentions and jail sentences as well as more intrusive surveillance and interrogations. The Justice Ministry was separately seeking parliamentary ratification defining Price Tag attacks as "terrorism", alongside Palestinian and other politically motivated attacks on Israelis, the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. (Writing by Dan Williams; Editing by Alison Williams) </body> </html> </DataContent> </ContentItem> </NewsComponent> </NewsComponent> </NewsItem> </NewsML>