Palestinian Authority (PA) "police officers" fired at and chased a group of hikers in Samaria.
According to the Samaria Regional Council, the "police officers" came from the direction of Salfit. After firing at the Jews, the Arabs tried to shove the Jews into their vehicle.
The IDF was informed of the incident, and soldiers arriving at the scene rescued the hikers. No one was injured.
The hikers were detained to give testimony, and are currently at the Ariel police station. Honenu attorney Nati Rom is advising them.
Samaria Regional Council Head Yossi Dagan is also with the hikers, and spoke with the district commander and brigade commander, demanding that the hikers be released immediately. "It is unacceptable that PA police officers enter Area C, attempting to arrest Israeli civilians. From our perspective, this crosses a red line," he said.
"PA policemen firing live shots at Israeli civilians, and attempting to force them into a car in Area C, is an attempted terror attack just like any other, from our perspective. Palestinian police officers have already proven themselves to be terrorists in uniform, when they murdered Rabbi Meir Chai, Ido Zoldan, and others. This is a serious rise in the PA's chutzpah (audacity) and boldness. I call on the army to prosecute the police officers to the fullest extent of the law and ensure that this will not occur again. Israelis will hike all around the country.
"We expect that the hikers be released immediately. These are civilians who went hiking. We must treat them as hikers who were attacked, not as criminals."
"A group of hikers who love the land were attacked by armed Palestinian police officers who acted in Area C and shot at the group. Instead of the Palestinian police officers being caught and arrested, a group of young people found themselves handcuffed in a police station like the worst of criminals. This improper tradition must end," Rom said.
"By miracle, the group managed to escape, and even though they were armed they avoided conflict, and members of the group did not break the laws. Unfortunately it took a long time, over an hour and a half, for security forces to arrive. And right now the victims find themselves in a police station. This is absurd."