Car damaged by Arab rock throwers in Beit Fajjar
Car damaged by Arab rock throwers in Beit FajjarMichel Vaknin; Hadashot Bazman

An IDF army vehicle came under attack in the hostile Palestinian Arab village of Beit Fajjar, near Gush Etzion, on Tuesday evening, after accidentally straying into the village while using the Waze GPS app.

The vehicle sustained significant damage when numerous Arab terrorists hurled rocks, firebombs and other projectiles at it, but thankfully the soldiers themselves emerged unscathed. They reportedly extricated themselves and did not require additional backup.

According to an initial investigation the incident began when the vehicle's driver, together with another soldier, stopped to fill up at a gas station. Upon leaving, they activated Waze to find their way back to base.

But the app directed them back via the particularly hostile village; mere seconds after entering Beit Fajjar the soldiers came under attack.

The soldiers did not open fire, investigators say, and managed to beat a hasty retreat.

An investigation is ongoing.

The incident recalls a previous, far more serious one in which two soldiers narrowly escaped being lynched after following Waze instructions near Bet El in Samaria.

Investigators in that incident found that the soldiers were to blame for incorrectly programming the app. The military has repeatedly warned soldiers against relying solely on Waze or any other GPS system when navigating.