Israeli attacked after taking wrong turn into Arab village in Samaria

An Israeli civilian was attacked by Palestinians after taking a wrong turn into the Arab village of Mukhmas in Samaria overnight Monday, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed to JNS on Tuesday.

Several Palestinians hurled rocks at the victim, lightly wounding him, but he was able to flee the village independently, according to the IDF.

Security forces “were dispatched to the scene and linked up with the civilian on the outskirts of the village,” the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.

“His car was damaged,” the military noted. “The security forces take very seriously any incident involving harm to civilians, and are committed to actively pursuing individuals suspected of terrorist activity.”

Israeli right-wing activist Elisha Yered, a resident of the nearby Jewish community of Ramat Migron, said the victim abandoned his vehicle amid the attacks. Soldiers were said to have retrieved the car.

“No arrests have been reported among the terrorists who participated in the lynching,” Yered tweeted. “This is an Arab village that has carried out a series of attacks over the past year, and enjoys the consistent support of far-left activists, some of whom even reside in a house inside the town.”

Mukhmas is located some 5 miles northeast of Jerusalem in Area B of Judea and Samaria, which is under Israeli security jurisdiction but Palestinian Authority civil control.

In October 2024, Brig. Gen. Hisham Ibrahim, head of the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, revealed that the army over the course of one year had rescued more than 200 people from territories under the control of the P.A. and other unsafe areas in Judea and Samaria.

“Since Oct. 7, the officers of the unit rescued more than 200 Israelis, including soldiers, from [P.A.-controlled] Area A and other dangerous places in the area. Every single one of these incidents had the potential to set the area on fire and, God forbid, cause bodily harm,” he stated.

Under Israeli law, it is illegal for Jews to enter Area A, and large red signs warning Israelis not to enter these areas dot the entrances to P.A.-controlled villages.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO on Feb. 17.

Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, the group said in its annual report.