Victim of attempted lynch at Kusra tended to
Victim of attempted lynch at Kusra tended toReuters

Pinhasi Brown, a resident of the Esh Kodesh community in Binyamin, was among the group of Jewish men saved by the IDF Tuesday after being beaten in the Arab village of Kusra. Brown described the ordeal in an interview with Arutz Sheva

"We left at midday from Esh Kodesh to the direction of the Hayovel neighborhood in Eli, and the way we stopped in ancient Khirba," he recounted. 'We've taken this trip before in the past with women and babies. We have already tried several times to coordinate the trip with the military - this space is under Israeli control - but they never let us coordinate this trip with them," Brown stated. 

According to Brown, the attempting lynching of the group was a coordinated attack - and it was a miracle they made it out alive. 

"When we climbed towards Jebel, a van filled with Arabs approached us," he recalled. "At this point we realized there was a problem and we called the army. At the same time we started walking quickly back toward HaYovel."

"But the Arabs came constantly - more and more - and outflanked us, throwing rocks at us. We tried to cut through Shvut Rachel, but they surrounded us three directions." 

Brown argues that claims that the Palestinian Authority police forces tries to protect them are blatant lies. "Palestinian police vehicles approached us, and the officer was portrayed as protecting us himself threw stones at us," he stated. "Two rocks were thrown at me and I was semi-conscious, I believe it would be like the lynching in Ramallah, and if the army came later there would be twenty bodies."

"Images of my children flashed before my eyes, and I knew that it would be all over in a few minutes," Brown stated. "The Arabs continued to beat us even after the IDF arrived." 

Brown stated that he hopes the perpetrators receive the justice they deserve. In the meantime, his group might change their route, but they will continue to enjoy Israel's scenic hikes.

"We will continue hiking," he affirmed. "This is our land."