Palestinians rioters at around 11 p.m. Monday blocked with stones the Benjamin-crossing highway near the settlement of Neve Tzuf in south-west Samaria. An Israeli vehicle with four Tel Aviv residents hit the barrier and was damaged.
The event took place at the Abud bypass, in front of the village of Deir Abu Mashal, about 500 meters from the point where a resident of Neve Tzuf was injured last week when her vehicle was stoned by Arab rioters in broad daylight. The wounded woman was treated at the scene and did not need to be evacuated, but her car suffered serious damage.
Security forces from the settlement of Neve Tzuf and IDF forces reached the scene Monday night and began searching for the attackers.
Neve Tzuf was established on the ruins of a Talmud-era village, in November, 1977, by 40 families of both National Religious and secular Israelis. The murder of a Jewish resident at the settlement’s gate—a unique event back then—caused a mass desertion of the place, with only seven families choosing to stay.
Today some 250 families (close to 1,000 residents) live in Neve Tzuf, which is situated 35 minutes from Jerusalem and 45 minutes from Tel Aviv. The community is religious, with 55% Ashkenazi, 33% Sephardi, and 15% Yemenite.