Authorities believe a group of Jewish residents of Samaria, "settlers" in the eyes of the world, are responsible for vandalizing a mosque in the Palestinian village of Yasuf late Friday night.

A portion of the mosque was set on fire, and Muslim prayer carpets and holy books were burned. Israeli authorities confirmed that Hebrew graffiti was also found at the scene.

One of the messages spray-painted on the floor of the mosque read "Price tag - greetings from Effi."

Israeli settlers use the term "price tag" to refer to actions taken in response to government decisions to curb settlement activity, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did last month when he agreed to international demands for a temporary halt to all new construction in Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria.

Israeli security forces fear that settler groups will pulling such stunts, and more dangerously, that Palestinian terror groups will respond by escalating efforts to murder Israeli Jews.