A complex rescue operation unfolded overnight in Tarqumiyah, a Palestinian town in the Hebron area, after a regular-duty IDF soldier from southern Israel was found handcuffed in the middle of the town. The incident began when Palestinian security forces alerted Israeli authorities that a man in an IDF uniform was being held in Palestinian territory.
Police from the Hebron station, under the Judea and Samaria District, were rushed to the scene and moved quickly to extract the soldier unharmed. After being brought out, he was taken to a safe location at the Hebron police station, where he underwent initial medical checks.
Preliminary findings indicate that the soldier was not armed when he was found, and investigators currently believe the background to the incident is criminal rather than security-related. Police said the case is now being handed over to the Military Police, given that the person involved is an active-duty IDF soldier.
Military Police investigators are on their way to the Hebron station to take custody of the soldier and open a full investigation into how he ended up in Tarqumiyah and who else was involved in the dispute that led to the incident.
