Closed-circuit security camera footage of the near-lynching of a Jewish motorist on Route 60 Thursday has been released, showing the harrowing moments when rioters converged on the trapped driver.
Hundreds of Arab rioters blocked Route 60, the primary traffic artery spanning Judea and Samaria, in the village of Hawara, which is built around the road.
When a Jewish driver from the town of Itamar in Samaria was on his way home from grocery shopping, rioters surrounded his vehicle in an attempted lynch.
The riot developed out of a demonstration held in support of hundreds of jailed terrorists conducting a mass hunger strike.
As can be seen in the video footage, just as the motorist is about to force his way through a crowd of rioters blocking the road, an Arab ambulance pulls in, blocking the driver’s way.
The lynch mob then converges on the car, hurling stones and attempting to force their way into the vehicle.
The driver then opened fire in self-defense, killing one terrorist and wounding another.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett expressed support for the man targeted by the lynch mob, saying that his response was necessary to save his own life.
“An Israeli citizen was cruelly attacked by a group of Arab terrorists who threw stones at his vehicle and tried to him,” said Bennett. “In order to prevent a lynch, he opened fire on his attackers and killed one of them.”
“Let’s be clear about this,” Bennett continued, “stones kill. The blood of Adelle Biton is a painful reminder of this,” he added, referencing the Israeli toddler murdered by five Arab terrorists on Route 5 near Ariel. Biton succumbed to her injuries in 2015, two years after the attack which left her critically injured.
“Every one of us, as parents to our children, as citizens, would have acted this way. The Israeli government needs to provide security to Israeli citizens everywhere, including in Samaria and Judea.”