Israeli police say vandals have sprayed a dozen Muslim graves in a Jerusalem cemetery with graffiti in a politically motivated act.

Spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the phrase "price tag" was sprayed in Hebrew over the graves early on Thursday.

The term is used by a tiny fringe of extremists to protest Israeli policy they view as favoring Palestinians. Israeli military bases, churches and mosques have also been targeted.

Rosenfeld says police are investigating.

The centuries-old cemetery in central Jerusalem is near the site of a planned museum of tolerance. The project by the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a U.S.-based Jewish group, has drawn fire from Palestinians who say it desecrates graves.

The Wiesenthal Center has said the construction is in an area that has been a parking lot for 50 years.