Updated

A Palestinian official is accusing Jewish settlers in the West Bank of attacking olive groves belonging to Palestinians and uprooting some 1,700 seedlings.

Agriculture Minister Waled Assaf said on Monday that the attacks took place in two villages north of Ramallah. He said the Palestinian government will help the villagers with new seedlings to plant.

The Israeli police say they are investigating the incident and can't say who was behind it yet.

In recent years, a fringe of extremist settlers have carried out acts of vandalism in retaliation for Palestinian attacks and to protest what they perceive as the Israeli government's pro-Palestinian policies.

Mosques, churches, dovish Israeli groups and even Israeli military bases have been targeted in these so-called "price tag" assaults. The attacks have been widely condemned in Israel.