Stones Hit the Vehicles as They Left
Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, who joined the Regavim tour, said the attackers pelted the group's vehicles as they were leaving the Palestinian village in Judea and Samaria. One rock broke a car window and lightly injured a passenger, who was treated by Israel Defense Forces medics.
Hassan-Nahoum described a group traveling in three cars. After people surrounded the vehicles and demanded that they leave, the visitors turned toward the exit. The stone attack followed there. She said the passengers ducked inside the car before a rock shattered its window.
Her account follows the group from its attempt to leave to the broken glass and medical treatment. The vehicles were already heading out of the village when the attack took place.
Six Nationalities, Shared Support for Israel
The visitors included citizens of the United States, Argentina, Canada, France, Britain and South Africa. They were foreign influencers taking part in a Regavim tour and publicly supporting Israel.
Their citizenship matters to the question the attack now raises. Foreign nationals being injured in Judea and Samaria can become a subject of international attention. This time, the people in the vehicles were visitors whose public position is supportive of Israel.
The immediate facts deserve attention in their own right: who was attacked, how the window was broken and why a passenger needed medical care. The victims' support for Israel should carry no less weight when those facts become the subject of headlines and public demands.
Friday's Incident Was About 1.5 Kilometers Away
The stone attack occurred roughly 1.5 kilometers from the place where American photojournalist Heidi Levine was “assaulted” on Friday, October 16.
Both incidents left foreign nationals injured. The locations are close together, and three days separate them. The latest victims were people from abroad who support Israel.
That combination puts a direct question before the outlets and public figures who respond to attacks on foreign citizens: will the same demand for condemnation and accountability follow when the injured people stand with Israel?
The Village Huckabee Visited in September
Turmus Ayya is a hostile village where many residents hold American citizenship. U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee visited on September 5, about a month and a half before the influencers were attacked.
During that visit, an “uproar” developed, including in Israeli media, when a Jew drove through the area in his vehicle. Huckabee raised his phone to film it, and the passing vehicle became a subject of coverage.
The driver, Amishav Melet, later identified himself and said he had been responding to a security alert in a Ranger security vehicle. He said he greeted the delegation and media crews and continued on his way. He also described being portrayed afterward as a dangerous settler.
The village that drew attention during the ambassador's visit has now been the scene of a stone attack on foreign supporters of Israel. A window was shattered and a passenger was hurt. Will that produce the same headlines, public condemnation and demands to hold the attackers accountable when the victims support Israel?
