IDF forces arrested two Arabs who are suspected of being involved in a violent incident late Tuesday night which ended with a near-fatal assault on an Israeli youth, the Israel Police announced on Thursday.
The 14-year-old Israeli boy, Zadok Cohen, is in serious but stable condition after receiving severe head injuries on Tuesday night when the vehicle he was in was attacked by Arabs in the Hawara village, south of Shechem (Nablus).
The boy was attacked when the vehicle he was traveling in stopped at a roundabout in the village and the boy and his brother got out and danced to Purim music.
A car with several Arabs inside stopped next to the Jewish group and started insulting and attacking the brothers, while additional Arabs coming to the scene attempted to block the boys’ escape.
When the 14-year-old boy got back into the car to flee the violent scene an Arab man threw a cinder-block through the open window, hitting his head.
The driver, a lone soldier who had defended the group throughout the attack, managed to bring the 14-year-old to the Yitzhar junction where Israeli soldiers administered first aid.
The police stated Thursday that it had launched an investigation “following a report of a friction incident” in the Hawara area of Samaria.
“According to reports received, during friction between settlers and Palestinians, a 14-year-old boy who was apparently wounded in the head by an object thrown at him and was evacuated by MDA to the hospital,” the police said in the oddly worded statement.
“A number of damaged Palestinian vehicles were also found at the scene,” the police added ambiguously.
The boy is being treated at Schneider Children’s Medical Center in Petah Tikva, where, having been placed in an induced coma with respiratory support due to his severe head injuries, including a fractured skull, he underwent surgery.