Palestinians shelter Israeli policewoman from rocks tossed by Jewish extremists (PHOTO)

An Israeli police officer found unlikely protection in the form of two Palestinian men, who, despite their differences, sheltered her from rocks, according to a picture taken in the midst of a stone-throwing battle between Jewish extremists and Palestinians.

The picture appeared on social media on Sunday and was taken by photographer Shaul Golan for Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper. The West Bank outpost, Esh Kodesh, became the scene of clashes between dozens of settlers and Palestinian farmers, working on their land Saturday.

Igal Sarna, who published the photo on Facebook, wrote that it shows what he has seen “for many years in the occupied territories – the transformation of consciousness.”

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One of the men sheltering the Israeli officer was Zakaria Sadah, a Palestinian field worker for Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), an Israeli human rights organization.

“While it is natural that the security forces may identify more with their own people, procedures regarding law enforcement in situations involving violent Israelis must be clearly laid out and consistently implemented,” RHR said in a statement, regarding the Saturday incident.

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The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that the two groups were throwing stones at each other, and when the soldiers arrived to stop the confrontation, they got their share of stones as well. There were no reports on the injuries.

Israel has recently seen a wave of violence, fueled not only by the clashes between IDF security forces and Palestinians, but also by Jewish extremists, either orthodox or far-right, both acting against Arabs and Jews.

According to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin: “Flames have engulfed our country.” He stated that “flames of violence, flames of hatred, flames of false, distorted and twisted beliefs. Flames which permit bloodshed in the name of the Torah, in the name of the law, in the name of morality, in the name of a love for the land of Israel,” according to Haaretz.

READ MORE: Israel approves 20 year prison terms for stone throwers 

The president’s speech at a rally on Sunday triggered a backlash and unexpected public outrage, “both off and online”, RT’s Paula Slier reported. “There also have been threats against his life, he is also being accused of being a terrorist and a traitor,” Slier said.

Following the threats, the Israeli Security Agency Shin Bet instructed the President's Office to file a police complaint, according to Haaretz.