The women, from Rahat, were attacked on Friday while en route to Nablus after taking a wrong turn.
The suspects, known right-wing extremists with a history of violent attacks, allegedly threw stones at the women, threatened them with firearms, and set their car on fire. The women were rescued by nearby soldiers and taken to a hospital, where they were treated for injuries, including head and arm wounds.
One of the victims described the attack to Ynet: “They threw stones and blocks, shattered our car windows, and questioned whether we were from the West Bank or Gaza. They sprayed us with tear gas, aimed guns at us, and threatened to kill us. We thought we were going to die.”
The Givat Ronen outpost claimed that the women were stopped by a local security team due to heightened security concerns in the West Bank, and that the attack was carried out by stone-throwing youths after the women had left the scene. They alleged that the car was set on fire after the women had departed.
Far-right lawmakers from the Otzma Yehudit Party, including Itamar Ben-Gvir and Limor Son Har-Melech, defended the settlers, suggesting the women might have been spies and that the settlers were merely protecting their community. Son Har-Melech also claimed the women’s car lacked Israeli license plates, a statement that was later disproven.
Radwan al-Jawar, one of the victims' husbands, called for an apology from Son Har-Melech, emphasizing their efforts to protect others during the October 7 massacre. The Al-Ja’ar family condemned the lawmaker’s statements, accusing her of attempting to distort the truth and calling for the arrest of the racists responsible for the attack.
