Dozens of Arab stone-throwers pelted Jewish drivers traveling through Huwara, an Arab town near Nablus (Shechem) in Samaria on Monday night.
Israeli cars, identified by their license plates, were targeted. One driver, a volunteer with the United Hatzalah emergency medical service, found himself surrounded by rock-throwers. A stone shattered his windshield, Arutz Sheva reported.
A Jewish family on its way to a wedding was also surrounded. “Dozens of Arabs blocked our path and started throwing rocks, pieces of scrap metal, and other objects at us,” one said. “We were hit on all sides. It was a miracle that no one was injured.”
IDF soldiers arrived at the scene but failed to bring the rioters under control. Instead, police targeted local Jewish residents who came to help.
The United Hatzalah volunteer was handcuffed and placed in a police car. Another resident, a 40-year-old father of five from nearby Yitzhar, had his nose broken when a border policeman from the Yamam National Counter Terror Unit hit him in the face with his helmet. Yet another Jew was knocked to the ground and surrounded by police who punched him before taking him to a police car.
“It’s just unbelievable. You’re driving through Huwara and someone throws a rock at your car—and all the soldiers care about is making sure you keep driving, even though all around you other cars are getting pelted with rocks as well,” said one eyewitness, Arutz Sheva reported. “What are we supposed to do? How can we live like this? And not only that—they’re arresting us too. What’s going on here? It’s just impossible to describe the insanity. The security system has entirely collapsed.”
Route 60, the main north-south highway in Judea and Samaria, runs through Huwara.
Huwara has been the site of several recent terror attacks, including on March 19 when David Stern, a dual Israeli-U.S. citizen, came under fire in his car from a terrorist. Stern returned fire and wounded the terrorist. On Feb. 26., brothers, Hallel and Yagel Yaniv were killed in a terror attack in the town. Two Israeli soldiers were wounded in a shooting attack in Huwara on Saturday evening when terrorists fired at a military post from a passing vehicle.
