The West Bank. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – A Jewish hiker shot and killed a Palestinian on Thursday after a large group of Palestinians attacked Israeli children who were hiking in Samaria as part of a bar mitzvah celebration.

The Palestinians threw rocks at the Jewish hikers, three of whom sustained minor injuries. A parent of one of the hikers, who accompanied the group and was carrying a weapon for safety reasons, felt threatened and fired. One of the Palestinian assailants was critically wounded in the incident and was pronounced dead after failed resuscitation efforts.

The children fled to a nearby cave and waited to be rescued by Israeli security forces. When the troops arrived, they administered first aid to the wounded and dispersed the Palestinians.

“The hike was coordinated with the [IDF’s] Samaria Brigade in advance,” an Israeli official told Israel Hayom. “It was approved by security forces on the terms that two parents accompanied the group and were armed. The moment they were surrounded by Palestinians, they quickly called for help, but before the forces arrived they felt they were in mortal danger and one of the guards had to fire warning shots, followed by fire at the aggressors.”