27th August 2007

In the early afternoon the Palestinian security forces returned an Israeli soldier who is understood to have become lost in the streets of Jenin.

At about 1.30 pm a single Israeli soldier, coming from Nasser street, entered the city center of Jenin. Eye witnesses reported that he was driving a civilian car, but because of his uniform it didn’t take long to expose his identity.

While his car entered the central square at Masjad al-Kabir, rumors about his presence started to spread across the city and caused a flood of Palestinians to surge in the direction of the Israeli soldier.

During this time, two Palestinian police cars stopped the Israeli soldier and accompanied him to the governmental compound of Jenin, the Muqata’a.

Some Palestinians reported that the Israeli soldier was injured by stone throwers and that some Palestinians managed to steal his M16 rifle. While this information could not be confirmed by either police or any other sources, it is sure that, after the soldier was taken away, his car was set on fire.

The DCO was informed about the mistaken solider and a few minutes later four Israeli jeeps arrived at the Muqata’a, where the Israeli soldier was handed over by Palestinian security forces .

At this, about 100 Palestinians gathered in front of the Muqata’a and some kids sought to express their anger by throwing stones at the Palestinian police. The police responded by throwing a number of sound bombs in their directions in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

Although the Palestinian police perhaps saved a life today, many Palestinians expressed their huge frustration and anger regarding this incident. The anger was further compounded and aggrieved by the fact that the saving of the Israeli soldier came only two days following the cruel assassination of two local residents by Israeli military forces.