‘Chanukah miracle’: Israelis attacked in Ramallah recount horrific experience

Hamas spokesman encourages more violence against Jews, slams Palestinian Authority police for rescuing Israelis from angry mob.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

On Wednesday evening, two ultra-Orthodox Jews unfamiliar with the area took a wrong turn, which led them to a life-or-death confrontation and a dramatic rescue from the near-lynch by local Palestinian police.

“We stopped at a gas station on the way to the grave of Matityahu Kohen Gadol [near Modi’in Illit]. We asked the attendant how to get there, because we do not have [navigation app] Waze,” Arutz Sheva quoted one of the victims as telling Israeli security forces.

The pair thought they followed the directions correctly, but “in the middle of the road I realized we were not in the right direction and then what happened, happened – [cinder] blocks, stones and Molotov cocktails.”

After locals hurled projectiles at the car, it was set on fire. The Israelis escaped with minor injuries after being extricated from the mob by Palestinian Authority police.

Esther Sharabi, the mother of one of the victims, told Army Radio that her son’s “condition is just fine.”

“There is no doubt that there was a very big Chanukah miracle here. I would like to thank the Palestinian police.”

Gaza-based terror group Hamas issued a statement praising the “heroic” mob that attacked two Israelis who accidentally drove into Ramallah, stoning their vehicle and setting it alight.

Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called the violent attack “an act of national heroism,” and slammed the PA police for protecting the Israelis and turning them over to Israeli security forces.

The PA officers should “focus on protecting our people from settler violence,” Barhoum said, and “should not have safeguarded and returned [the Israelis] to the enemy.”

Adding that he hoped the violent incident would inspire more attacks on Israelis in the future, he said, “this must continue with force and spread all across Palestine.”