Two Israelis rescued from mob by Palestinian police in Ramallah

Palestinian police rescued two Israelis who were surrounded by a mob in Ramallah while their car was set ablaze on Wednesday night. 

Palestinian Authority security forces got the two men to safety and turned them over to the Israeli army.

“The citizens left accompanied by Palestinian security forces in coordination with the [Israeli] security forces in the area,” the Israeli army said.

Video footage of the scene shows the crowd setting their car on fire after the pair was discovered in downtown Ramallah.

The Israeli army said the two were lightly wounded and released after questioning.

It is not yet known how the two stumbled into an area forbidden for Israelis to enter. Ramallah is the Palestinian Authority capital.

Local media reports identified the Israeli men as members of a Hasidic sect, media reports said.

The videos show the car being torched but little is known what led to the arson or how the men got there. The car had what appears to be large speakers mounted on it. 

Hamas praised the attack as an “act of resistance,” but criticized the PA forces for handing the men over to Israel.

“The duty of the PA security services is to protect our people from settler attacks and to confront them side by side, not to safeguard them and return them to the enemy,” Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum said.