Five young Israeli Jewish men had their lives saved on Thursday by a Palestinian Arab man who had no desire to see to see a fresh flare-up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Israelis found themselves in sudden danger after accidentally entering the Palestinian village of Halhul just north of Hebron. They were apparently trying to visit a nearby Jewish holy site. Halhul is mentioned in the Bible (Joshua 15:58) and is the traditional burial site of the prophets Jonah, Gad and Nathan.

As they entered the village, Hebrew media reports that the Israelis’ vehicle was pelted with stones causing the driver to lose control. Two of the Israelis were lightly wounded when the car flipped over.

Having witnessed the attack, and fearing that the Israeli men might be captured or lynched, a local Palestinian man intervened and escorted the victims to a nearby junction where an Israeli army patrol was waiting for them.

Military officials are said to be concerned that such incidents will increase in the coming months after the Palestinian Authority ended official security coordination with Israel.