The Israeli military confirmed on Thursday that vandals chopped down at least 150 trees in the village of Qusra, which was the site of recent clashes between residents and hardline settlers.

Mayor Hani Abu Reideh laid the blame on Esh Kadosh, a nearby settler outpost. The residents in Esh Kodesh denied involvement.

In the same region, the Israeli army said soldiers found swastikas sprayed on the walls of a tomb in Nablus where the Biblical Joseph is said to be buried.

The soldiers erased the graffiti ahead of a military-escorted Jewish pilgrimage to the site, which went without incident. The army filed a complaint with Palestinian security forces.