Lynch mob in Hawara
Lynch mob in HawaraREUTERS

Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) expressed support for the resident of Samaria and father of eight who was attacked by a lynch mob while driving home from a supermarket on Thursday.

The man, a social worker from the town of Itamar in Samaria, was attacked by some 200 Arab rioters from Hawara on Route 60 Thursday. The attackers hurled stones at the man’s car and surrounded it, blocking off possible escape routes.

When the stone throwers began closing in on the vehicle, the driver was forced to open fire with his private firearm.

One terrorist was killed, another wounded during the attack on the driver.

Bennett responded to the incident Thursday afternoon, saying the shooting was justified self-defense.

“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.”

Bennett called for the government to stand behind “the victim and not on the side of the barbarians who throw stones and rocks to murder drivers. The security establishment needs to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”