Palestinians are suspected to have beaten and robbed an Israeli taxi driver who drove them to Hawara, in the West Bank, on Monday.
The driver was moderately injured and treated by paramedics at the scene before being hospitalized.
The man picked up the three passengers in central Israel, near Petah Tikvah. He claims they asked him to drive them past the West Bank settlement of Ariel and after they had passed the city, before reaching Hawara checkpoint, removed him forcefully from the cab and beat him with a blunt object before fleeing in the vehicle.
Security forces launched a search for the suspects. Police sources told Ynet that the victim is a resident of Givatayim, and that the motive for the crime is apparently criminal.
The cab was eventually found near Awadallah village. Forensics teams are currently investigating it for clues.
Aviel Magnezi contributed to this report