A quiet residential street in the town of El Bireh was transformed overnight into a car cemetery. One after another, one encounters the remains of the vehicles, torched, destroyed, in ashes; some are covered by large plastic sheets, their owner’s phone number attached.

It looks like a bombed-out scene. Nineteen cars were completely burned that night in November, a total loss; one was somehow salvaged by its owner, who had it repaired for 11,000 shekels (about $3,000). The most expensive car destroyed was a new Skoda SUV, which had cost 170,000 shekels.