Palestinians attacked a car carrying two tourists with stones in the West Bank city of Nablus. According to unconfirmed reports, these were German vacationers. As several Israeli media reported on Saturday, the two were traveling in a car sharing car with Israeli license plates. A military spokeswoman said the victims suffered minor injuries and were given medical attention by Israeli soldiers after the incident. They were then handed over to the police.
The army and police initially did not comment on the origin of the tourists. There was also no official confirmation from the German embassy in the evening. Ambassador Steffen Seibert wrote on Twitter about the reports: “A mob that attacks tourists because they don’t like their license plate is disgusting and cowardly”. He thanked the Palestinian-Israeli citizen who rescued her “from the bottom of my heart”. According to the reports, the man is said to have helped the two tourists leave the city.
A video shared on social media showed how around two dozen men and young people threw stones at a car on a busy road and initially violently prevented it from continuing in the slow-moving traffic. Additional footage shows that the Tel Aviv city logo and a sticker with an Israeli flag were affixed to the car. The authenticity of the video could not initially be independently confirmed.
Nablus is one of the autonomous Palestinian territories. Israelis are strictly forbidden to enter the country. Foreign tourists can visit the city. However, the Foreign Office “strongly advises against” traveling to the region around Nablus. The security situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories has been particularly tense for months. Further violence is feared during the Muslim month of fasting, Ramadan, which begins next week.
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