Israelis pelted with rocks after entering West Bank village
Three men rescued by security personnel after wrong turn; Palestinians say they were there for ‘price tag’ attack
Three Israeli men were pelted with rocks Thursday night after making a wrong turn in an Arab village in the West Bank. One of the men sustained light injuries to the head.
The trio was rescued by security personnel.
The three said they were driving along a road and made a turn into a small town near Ramallah after encountering an IDF roadblock to check for a suspicious object on the way to the Israeli settlement of Talmon, Army radio reported. Gil-ad Shaar, one of the three Israeli teenagers kidnapped and killed on June 12, was from that settlement
Palestinian sources told Army Radio they suspected the three arrived in the village to carry out a “price tag” hate attack in revenge for the murders of the three teens.
Shaar, along with Naftali Fraenkel and Eyal Yifrach were found partially buried on Monday in the Palestinian village of Halhul near Hebron, after an 18-day extensive IDF search for the teens.
Israel is on a manhunt for two Hamas men who are prime suspects in the kidnapping and murder of the teens.
Israeli calls for vengeance for the teens after the funerals on Tuesday have been met with widespread condemnation from the political leadership and a police probe into online incitement after thousands of Facebook users photographed themselves calling for revenge against Arabs.
The social media campaign came amid escalating tensions in Gaza as terrorists continue to launch volleys of rockets into Israel, Israel responds with air strikes, and as clashes in East Jerusalem continue after the brutal discovery of the body of 16-year-old Muhammed Abu Khdeir in a Jerusalem forest early Wednesday morning. Palestinians say the killing was a revenge attack carried out by Israelis.
Israel Police is still investigating the circumstances of the suspected murder and told The Times of Israel they were looking into two possible motives: that Abu Khdeir was killed in a family honor killing, or that it was a nationalistically motivated slaying. According to officials familiar with the investigation, investigators increasingly view the killing as a revenge attack perpetrated by Jewish terrorists.
The funeral for the teen is set to be held on Friday.
