Abduction? IDF soldier found handcuffed in Palestinian town

IDF soldier found handcuffed in the center of a Palestinian Authority-administered town says he was abducted.

By World Israel News Staff

An IDF soldier in uniform was rescued overnight after Palestinian security forces found him handcuffed in the center of Tarqumiya, a Palestinian town near Hebron, in what Israeli officials believe may have been an abduction.

Palestinian security officials notified Israeli authorities late Wednesday that a man wearing an IDF uniform had been located in the town.

The military’s District Coordination and Liaison office, part of the Civil Administration, contacted its Palestinian counterparts, and Israeli forces in the area helped coordinate the soldier’s transfer at an agreed meeting point.

The soldier, who serves in the regular army and is from southern Israel, was handed over to Israeli liaison officers and later taken to the Hebron police station.

He underwent initial medical checks and was questioned by the commander of the regional brigade before being transferred to Israel Police and then to the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.

According to Ynet, the soldier said he had been abducted and taken to Tarqumiya. He reportedly told investigators he was removed from a vehicle inside the town before the vehicle fled.

A preliminary inquiry found that the soldier was unarmed when he was located and that he was handcuffed. Israeli officials said the leading assessment was that the case stemmed from a criminal dispute, not a nationalist or security incident.

The Military Police Criminal Investigation Division is now investigating how the soldier reached Tarqumiya, who brought him there, why he was handcuffed and whether other suspects were involved.

The case is considered especially sensitive because Tarqumiya is in the southern Hebron Hills area, and Israelis are barred from entering Palestinian Authority-controlled Area A without authorization.

Israeli officials frequently warn that such entries are illegal and can become life-threatening, particularly when soldiers or civilians are identified as Israeli inside Palestinian cities or towns.

The soldier’s claim that he was abducted remains under investigation. Officials have not yet said whether they believe he was forcibly taken from Israel or another part of Judea, whether he entered Tarqumiya voluntarily before the incident, or what circumstances may have led to him being found handcuffed.

For now, investigators are treating the episode as a criminal case with potential military implications rather than a terror kidnapping.