And It Could Have Been An Act of Provocation

As you know, there was an act of violence committed against an Arab here in Shiloh, at a construction site:

Last Friday, eight Israelis attacked a Palestinian construction worker who claimed he was beaten with a brick and an iron rod. "I was walking to work as usual when eight young, masked settlers armed with clubs began hitting me in the head and legs," Sami Snobar recalled from his hospital bed Thursday. Snobar was one of two Palestinians who were attacked in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh Thursday, in what police suspect was a "price tag" act carried out to avenge the massacre in Itamar.

At a post of mine on the Itamar slaughter, I caught someone who commented :-

How do you know for sure that the murder wasn't done by Mossad and then pinned on Palestinians by leaving a trail??

Of course, I really do not know for sure until the perpetrators are caught, tried and found guilty.  I can assume so based on previous incidents but, to be honest, I cannot be "sure".

So, if that is a valid line of thought, well, could the attack on that Arab been an act of provocation by left-wing radicals?  After all, they've been caught doing other things like cutting down tree branches and setting fires.  And more.  Eight is an awful lot for a group of local Jews who, we would expect, are acting in a semi-underground fashion.

I spoke with the security guard at the site, who was punched up on the left shoulder and I asked him 'did they speak to you in native Hebrew?' and he said they were quiet except to say, in Hebrew, 'don't use your weapon.'.

Can I be sure they weren't local residents but outside provocateurs?

Can you?

^