"Such hateful actions are never justified. Those responsible should be arrested and subject to the full force of the law," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
Three mosques have been sprayed with graffiti in Hebrew since Monday, after Israeli troops demolished three homes in the settlement outpost of Migron.
Nuland noted that the Israeli government had also condemned the attacks "and instructed law enforcement authorities to act vigorously to bring those responsible to justice."
"We urge all parties to avoid the potential for escalation. Violence will not advance, but will impede, the hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians based on acceptance and respect," she added.
Hardline settlers have adopted what they call a "price tag" policy under which they attack Palestinians and their property in response to Israeli government measures against settlements.
The trouble started hours after the Migron demolitions when a mosque in Qusra village, southeast of Nablus, was damaged on Monday.
On Thursday, attackers staged a similar assault on a mosque in Yatma village, and spray-painted it with Hebrew reading "price tag" and "Migron."
And on Friday vandals sprayed graffiti on the walls of a mosque and a university in the West Bank town of Birzeit near Ramallah.
(U.C003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
