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Palestinian shelters Jewish tourists from mob attack

[ssba]

Five American Jewish tourists who were on their way to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron yesterday were attacked by a mob and nearly lynched. The group mistakenly made a turn into the neighbourhood of Jabel Johar and was quickly surrounded by a mob that began throwing stones and firebombs at the vehicle.

Fayez Abu Hamdia, a local resident who noticed the commotion hid the five in his home and alerted security forces that came to rescue and evacuate them from the area after an hour or so. “I’m not a hero,” said Hamdia. “I did what had to be done. Before everything else, we’re all human beings. It happened near my house, and when we saw that that the commotion was beginning, my family members and I managed to bring them inside the house and shut the doors quickly.”

Hamdia recalled that the tourists were “extremely frightened.” “We calmed them, gave them some water, and tried to explain that they were safe now, even though they didn’t know Arabic,” he said. Paramedics treated two of the tourists for light bruises and all were sent home last night.