An Israeli civilian suffered a minor head injury on Thursday when he was attacked in the grazing areas of the Beit Karnaim farm near Maoz Tzur in the Binyamin Region. The regional council claims that during the incident, the assailants attempted to steal the farmer's weapon.
According to a statement published by the council, the incident began when three Palestinian Arabs harvesting olives in the grazing areas refused to leave when asked to do so by the Maoz Tzur security officer and residents of the farm.
The council further reported that during the confrontation, the alleged assailants attempted to steal the farmer's weapon. In response, he fired three shots in the air to scare them away. Two of the assailants fled while a third was apprehended. IDF troops who arrived at the scene tended to the injured victim.
At the same time, another incident occurred nearby on Route 463 when an object resembling an explosive device wrapped in a Hamas flag was left on the road. Due to this, the major road was closed for nearly two hours, until an inspection found that the explosive was a dummy.
The incidents come a day after another incident in the area. According to the Binyamin Regional Council, approximately 100 spikes and barriers were located in the grazing areas, and later a shepherd was attacked with clubs, stones, and tear gas. At the same time, about 50 masked men advanced towards the area. Several Israelis were lightly injured in the incident.
The council claims that there has been a significant increase in terrorist activity in the area recently. It also alleged that terrorists who carried out attacks in recent weeks came from the same area, and that an Israeli was previously abducted there by Palestinian Authority police officers while traveling on the Beitunia bypass road.
The Binyamin Regional Council stated: "The olive harvest cannot serve as a cover for attacking residents and attempting to seize weapons. We demand advance preparations at potential flashpoints, measures to prevent rioters from entering these areas, and decisive action against anyone who exploits the harvest season to carry out terrorist attacks. The security of residents must be the top priority."