A resident of Sa-Nur in central Shomron was almost lynched by Arabs while driving on a nearby road late this morning. Sa-Nur and Chomesh, seven kilometers to the south, are almost an enclave unto themselves, connected only by a north-south road to the rest of Israel. Ariel Perel told Arutz-7\'s Yosef Zalmanson what happened today:
\"It was close to being a lynch. I was driving with my friend, and had to come to a full stop at a barricade of rocks on the road. Then started the rock-throwing from literally all sides, from mobs of people on the sides of the road. I couldn\'t even go forward, because of an Arab car in the way, although I don\'t know if he was there purposely or not. I got out of the car and fired in the air, which I know is the only way to scare them off. It also scared off the car in front of us, and he got out of there fast.\" The Palestinians later claimed that one person was wounded from the shots, \"but I don\'t believe it, because I fired up into the air, not at them.\" The police arrived and took his account of the case, and informed him that he must appear at the Ariel police station on Sunday for further questioning.
Sa-Nur was a small community of artists, mostly new Russian immigrants, up until the beginning of the present war, when most of them began to leave. At present, only about three or four remain, but they have been joined by three new pioneering families and ten single men, four of whom have begun a new Chabad yeshiva on the site. \"Unfortunately,\" Perel continued, \"the army does not provide us with regular escorts - maybe once a day or less - and so we are forced to travel by ourselves and protect ourselves.\" He said, however, that the situation is improving: \"When we first arrived, there were firebombs and explosives and rocks all the time, but now things are somewhat quieter.\" When asked what keeps him there despite the daily dangers, Perel said, \"Eretz Yisrael, of course... I\'m sure you\'ve heard of the concept, \'The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew\' - It\'s the same thing with us.\" He said that the new residents are planning a major \"happening\" in Sa-Nur for two weeks from now, \"and we hope to have 500 people. We will really make this place blossom!\"