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Palestinian Authority/Gaza, January 31, 2022

Israelis escape mob attack after taking wrong turn into Palestinian village

Original source

The Times of Israel

Two Israelis driving in the West Bank were attacked by a Palestinian mob after taking a wrong turn and entering their village.

Father and daughter Rami and Inbal Orpaz told Channel 12 news on Sunday that they were on their way to Mount Hazor, known in Arabic as Tall Asur, to see the snow that fell there last week. The hill is a tourist hotspot for Israelis in the central West Bank.

According to them, they got lost and tried to use a navigation app to get back onto their route, but ended up in the Palestinian village of Dayr Jarir, about a four-minute drive from their destination.

“When we got into the village, it looked quiet and we didn’t see anything suspicious,” Inbal said. They soon found themselves in a traffic jam, when a group of young locals appeared and began hurling stones at their car.

“They yelled at us ‘Jish’ [Arabic for army] and people started pointing at us to turn around,” Inbal said. “Someone moved their car forward to block off the group so we could turn around and get out of there.”

Rami said he tried to drive away but couldn’t. “They were pointing at my shoulders, referring to military ranks, and at that moment we were pelted with a barrage of stones and some tried to open the car doors,” he said.

Fortunately, they both managed to drive away without any injuries.

“There are rocks weighing 6-7 kilos that landed inside the car. One rock stopped at the door frame of the car that was 2 centimeters away from me. It was just crazy,” Rami said.

However, their troubles did not end after escaping from the mob.

“For more than two hours no one at the [Ariel police] station talked to us — the only thing that bothered them is that we came in with our dog, which is somehow illegal without a certain procedure,” Inbal said.

“They did not ask if we needed dry clothes or mental health assistance. We went through a very difficult, traumatic event, and no one talked to us for hours. When a police investigator finally came and took the rocks out of the car, he just couldn’t believe it and asked, ‘How did you get out of there alive?'”

The Israel Police said in response: “This is an incident that took place while dealing with dozens of other incidents simultaneously following the storm that affected the entire West Bank. We know that as part of addressing [the complaints], some of the complainants had to wait before seeing an investigator and giving testimony, and we apologize for that. The investigation of the case continues.”