Three Jewish boys were nearly kidnapped on Wednesday night while driving through the Arab village of Jamma’in in Samaria. One of the boys was injured and taken to hospital while two others hid in the nearby hills.

The three were reportedly traveling from the Barkan neighborhood in northern Samaria to the Gav Hahar settlements which include Yitzhar, Itamar, Elon Moreh, Har Bracha. The Arab towns in the area have a history of attacking Jews. They strayed from the normal routes, choosing a more direct route that goes through the village of Jamma’in. A resident identified them as Jews. A mob quickly formed, surrounding the car with the Jews. At one point, the boys’ car was rammed and forced to stop. The three youths were attacked by the mob. Two of the youths managed to flee while the third was caught and beaten.

The IDF came to the scene and rescued the wounded youth, taking him to the Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva. The IDF conducted a search but did not find the two missing youths who were hiding in the nearby hills. In the early hours of the morning, the two boys arrived at a security station, arriving at the police station in Ariel on Thursday morning with their parents in order to file a complaint against the Arabs who attacked them.

The three boys were accused by the Arabs of being in the area in order to carry out a “price-tag attack.” The Arabs claimed that the boys had been caught while attempting arson at a stone factory. 

“This morning, the three boys were in shock at hearing that the mob that attacked them and tried to murder them was now accusing them of being part of a price-tag operation,” said the father of one of the youths, who was among those searching for his son all night.

“The boys were traveling to Barkan and turned left onto the Jamma’in road, which a lot of people use as a shortcut to Gav Hahar. Most likely due to the Arab festival that was being celebrated, the streets were full of people even at that late hour, and they realized they were Jews. They only escaped being lynched by a miracle and thank G-d they managed to flee. We are helping them and supporting them and we hope they’ll be fine.”

“The boys were shocked to hear this morning that the mob that attacked them tried to murder them and lynched them, [a story] made up this morning as if they were tied to a price tag,” said the father of one of the boys, according to Honenu, a pro-settler organization, adding that he was not permitted to speak to an attorney. 

“The boy is wounded and bruised from a severe lynching performed on him by Arabs,” said attorney Adi Kedar. “Instead of the Shin Bet forces now going door to door in Hawara and nearby villages, arresting the Arab crowd that tried to murder Jews tonight, they went to the hospital to arrest the wounded boy and forbade him to meet with a lawyer: There are no words.

“We have a serious concern for his medical condition, the nature of his injuries is severe, and taking him in the middle of medical treatment from the hospital is very, very disturbing,” Kedar said.

The incident was disturbingly reminiscent of past events. In 2000, two IDF reservists made a wrong turn and inadvertently entered Ramallah. They were stopped by Palestinian Authority police and taken to the el-Bireh police station. The IDF learned of the detention and decided against a rescue operation. A mob gathered and broke in to the police station and murdered them, mutilating their bodies. At this point, a Palestinian appeared at the window, displaying his blood-soaked hands to the crowd, which erupted into cheers. The crowd clapped and cheered as one of the soldier’s bodies was then thrown out the window and stamped and beaten by the frenzied crowd. One of the two was shot and set on fire, and his head was beaten to a pulp. Soon after, the crowd dragged the two mutilated bodies to the city center and began an impromptu victory celebration. PA Police officers tried to confiscate footage from reporters.

Such lynchings are disturbingly common. During the civil unrest that accompanied Hamas rocket attack in May, Israel365 New reporter Joshua Wander narrowly averted tragedy when his car was surrounded and attacked near his home on the Mount of Olives.