Two Israelis nearly lynched in Jenin, saved by PA forces

(JNS)-Two Israeli soldiers who accidentally entered the Palestinian city of Jenin on Monday were attacked by a mob of dozens of young Palestinians who also stole one of their weapons.

The two soldiers, a man and a woman, were lightly to moderately injured. Images of the female soldier's bloody face circulated through social media, after she was injured from shattered windshield glass. She was evacuated to a hospital in Afula.

Video from the attack shows the mob haranguing and attacking the soldiers as they cried out.

An initial investigation found that the soldiers had been misdirected into the Palestinian city by the Waze navigation app on their journey from Shavei Shomron in Samaria to Afula in the Jezreel Valley.

A Palestinian Authority policeman intervened to protect the Israeli soldiers, ultimately firing into the air to disperse the crowd. Over 100 members of the PA security forces were called out to escort the soldiers to safety and return their jeep to Israel, according to a PA security official interviewed by The Jerusalem Post, who also said that the effort was made both to protect human life as well as to prevent Israeli reprisals in Jenin if either of the soldiers were killed.

Israel has made multiple incursions into Jenin in recent weeks, including a clash during a manhunt for the murderer of Rabbi Raziel Shevah, who was killed in a drive-by shooting attack in December.

It is not uncommon for Israelis-including soldiers-to accidentally enter Palestinian-controlled areas. Between Jan. 1, and Nov. 8, 2017, 564 Israelis were returned to Israeli authorities after accidentally entering into Palestinian areas.