Beit Hogla
Beit HoglaErna Kovus

Two or three Arab thieves violently invaded the home of the Kovus family at the private farm of Beit Hogla near Jericho Saturday night.

Erna Kovus told Arutz Sheva that while there have been equipment thefts at her farm in the past, this was the first violent theft.

"Two Arabs came in with their faces covered, holding sticks,” she recounted. “They hit us and tied our arms and legs and said they do not want to kill us, but that they are just thieves who want the money. I said that there is money inside. They lifted me up like a sack of potatoes and put me down in the room, then they threw everything right and left to look for the money.

“They found a Torah scroll and my jewelry. Apparently there was a third one who went to where the goats were. He took the goats and then they left... They left the house looking as if it was after a pogrom. It's very distressing,” she added.

Erna's husband managed to free himself and to untie her, and they called the IDF and police. However, the robbers were already gone.

She said that there is not enough Jewish presence in the area, which is the site of the Biblical Gilgal. “The public and the institutions need to care more and to understand that there is something important here that needs to be preserved,” she explained. 

Kovus pointed out a wadi, or ravine, that leads to the location from Jericho and said that the military should take it over.