'Jesus is a monkey' daubed on Jerusalem monastery wall

Hebrew graffiti, including the phrase "Jesus is a monkey," was daubed on the walls of a monastery near Jerusalem early Tuesday in what police suspect was a so-called 'Price Tag' attack by right-wing, pro-settler extremists, according to reports.

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

For Subscribers

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCBP leaders cut out of Trump ad buy decision

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAmerican passenger drafted goodbye texts to her family as Flydubai plane plummeted

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCornell rape allegation pushes embattled New York prosecutor into national spotlight

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAbdul El-Sayed tries to woo MAHA voters as Democrats seek inroads with RFK’s supporters

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKratom-like substances are popping up in a typically benign supplement

FOR SUBSCRIBERSGOP super PAC increases its spending for Sen. Jon Husted in tough Ohio race

FOR SUBSCRIBERSRecords reveal tumultuous marriage between slain New York Times executive and wife

FOR SUBSCRIBERSFrom clean energy warrior to ‘wall of shame,’ James Talarico reverses on a fossil fuel money pledge

FOR SUBSCRIBERSCongressional staff planned official trip with luxury stops in Italy and France weeks before election

FOR SUBSCRIBERSA harrowing ordeal aboard an Israel-bound plane

FOR SUBSCRIBERSOpenAI CEO Sam Altman to skip congressional hearing on rogue AI agents

FOR SUBSCRIBERSKey DOJ lawyers departed Trump ‘grand conspiracy’ probe amid pressure to produce, source says

FOR SUBSCRIBERSTrump’s new AI chatbot often links to a site launched under Clinton 26 years ago

FOR SUBSCRIBERSAt MAHA summit, industry CEOs the movement once vilified take the stage

FOR SUBSCRIBERSThis Paralympian has two goals: Win medals and give away $500,000 to her teammates

Vandals torched the wooden door of the Latrun Monastery and spray-painted the graffiti on the holy site's stone walls, Israeli police said.

PhotoBlog: Jewish settlers voluntarily evacuate West Bank enclave

"Police have opened a special investigation into the incident," Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.

Israeli security officials had expressed concern about possible acts of retribution by a suspected settler vigilante campaign known as 'Price Tag' for Sunday's court-ordered eviction of 50 families from Migron, a settler site near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Police believe the incident was part of the campaign, the Times of Israel and the Jerusalem Post reported.

Rosenfeld said "Migron" and the words "Jesus is a monkey" were among the phrases scrawled at the monastery, which is located inside Israel but not far from the occupied West Bank.

'Price Tag' incidents are so-called because the extremists believe their attacks are extracting a price from Palestinians for their action in evicting settlers.

Jerusalem Post reporter Melanie Lidman posted pictures of the graffiti on Twitter.

She reported that, following the evacuation of Migron on Sunday, Judea and Samaria District police commander Amos Yaakov said: "I assume that there will be an increase in 'Price Tag' incidents, and we have carried out preparations for this."

The attack happened at around 3:30 a.m. local time Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET Monday) and was quickly discovered by monks, who notified police, she reported.

PhotoBlog: A ballet class in Gaza

The report added that the monastery was a way station for pilgrims on their way from Jaffa to Jerusalem in the 19th century, and that the current building was built in 1890.

Reuters contributed to this report.

More world stories from NBC News:

• Pistorious sorry for timing, not content, of Paralympics outburst
• Sun Myung Moon, founder of Unification Church, dies at 92
• Girl accused of blasphemy in Pakistan may have been framed by Muslim cleric
• 'Big enough for all of us': Clinton says US can work with China in Pacific
• Assad stays cool amid reports of bread-line slaughter

Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook