Palestinian police rescued an Israeli man on Friday who was almost lynched by a mob of some 200 Palestinians upon accidentally entering Abu Dis, a Palestinian village several miles east of Jerusalem.
The mob attacked the Israeli man's vehicle at the entrance to the village and threw stones at him. Palestinian police extricated the driver from his vehicle and barricaded themselves inside a nearby building. Meanwhile, the mob gathered around the building and torched the Israeli man's car.
Palestinian authorities reported the incident to the Israel Defense Forces. Around nightfall, IDF and Border Police entered Abu Dis and evacuated the Israeli.
A senior Palestinian police official told Israel Hayom that dozens of villagers gathered around the Israeli man, blocking his path and preventing him from fleeing. According to the official, by the time Palestinian officers arrived at the scene, the mob had grown to some two hundred in number.
"Palestinian police forces," the official said, "arrived a moment before the angry masses lynched him [the Israeli]. The Palestinian police protected him, in coordination with the Civil Administration, the Israeli military and Border Police, which entered the village and joined the Palestinian forces. The Israeli citizen was then handed over to them."
The IDF's Civil Administration is a joint civilian-military body whose duties include coordinating activities and operations with the Palestinian Authority's security apparatus.
A Magen David Adom emergency medical team administered first aid to the victim at the scene and transported him to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
The man was lightly injured, having sustained some bruising.
Over the weekend, the Israeli man was debriefed by the Judea and Samaria District Police. He told them that he was on his way home to Tel Aviv when he got lost on the way and entered Abu Dis by mistake.
