Former spokesman of the federal government Steffen Seibert speaks during handover ceremony in Berlin, Germany December 9, 2021. Photo: Steffi Loos/Pool via REUTERS

i24 News – Palestinians who attacked German tourists in Nablus took them for Israeli forces, a spokesman for the Palestinian Authority security services said Sunday, stressing there was “zero hostility” towards Germany among Palestinians.

The two tourists drove on Saturday through central Nablus, a city in the northern West Bank, when they came under attack.

“A group of young men… hurled stones at a civilian car with Israeli license plates,” a local Palestinian security official said on condition of anonymity.

Germany’s ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, said on Twitter: “A mob attacking tourists because they don’t like their license plate is disgusting and cowardly.”

Talal Dweikat, spokesman for the Palestinian security forces, said that “we clearly have zero hostility towards a country whose citizens visit our cities,” stopping short of condemning the attack.

According to Dweikat, the mob who assaulted the tourists were “wary” of a “foreign” car, fearing it may have been used by undercover Israeli forces, who often operate in the West Bank.

The spokesman said the tourists had been rescued by a Palestinian police officer who helped them exit the city center, while Seibert thanked “the Palestinian Israeli citizen who saved them.”

The incident comes amid a surge in violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The northern West Bank, and particularly the cities of Nablus and Jenin, have seen repeated deadly Israeli raids targeting Palestinian terrorists.