New details published Friday morning about the daytime abduction of an Israel Defense Forces soldier from Be'er Sheva into areas under the control of the Palestinian Authority reveal the soldier’s composure and resourcefulness before he was located and returned to Israeli territory.
About a week after the serious incident, police said the soldier managed to free himself from hand and foot restraints placed by his captors and was taken by Palestinian police to the station in the town of Tarkumiya in the southern Hebron area. The suspect in the abduction, an employee in the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence service, had his detention extended by four days.
Transfer of the kidnapped soldier (left) to the Israeli forces
Investigators said the main suspect, identified as Waleed Farukh, 49, abducted the soldier along with another individual in what is believed to have been a criminally motivated act. According to suspicion, the two forced the soldier into a vehicle, blindfolded him, restrained him and transported him into the West Bank.
During a hearing at the Be'er Sheva Magistrate’s Court, a police representative said: “This is a serious incident in which the suspect and another individual abducted the victim and threatened him. At a certain stage they dropped him in an open area while he was bound and injured. He managed to free himself from the restraints and was brought to a Palestinian police station and from there returned to Israel.”
The suspect’s attorney requested his release, arguing that the Be'er Sheva police had been slow in handling the investigation. He said: “From the day of the incident until today the case has not moved, or has moved sluggishly. This is a Palestinian security employee with no criminal record and much remains unclear.”
Police attribute to Farukh, who was arrested Wednesday, suspicion of kidnapping, endangering regional security, harming IDF activity, making threats and illegal entry into Israel. They sought a 10-day extension of his detention, noting that initial findings indicate a criminal rather than security-related motive. The abduction reportedly took place in the afternoon and the soldier was released around midnight. He later provided a formal statement to Israeli Police.
Judge Asaf Gil granted the request in part and extended the suspect’s detention by four days. In his ruling, Gil wrote that the suspect and others forced the victim into a vehicle and drove toward Palestinian Authority territory while the victim was restrained, robbed of property and threatened with harm, including with weapons. The judge said the victim was later transferred to another vehicle and driven through an open area, likely deeper into Palestinian territory.
At one point, the victim was removed from the vehicle, assaulted by the suspect and others, and left in an open area still bound. He managed to free himself and call for help. He was later transported by a Palestinian police vehicle to a local station, then transferred to the Be'er Sheva police station.
Although the motive for the incident is believed to be criminal rather than security-related, Gil wrote that it cannot be separated from the broader security context, particularly in light of recent years and the events of October 7. He said the claim that a Palestinian Authority resident entered Israel illegally, abducted a soldier from a major city and transferred him to Palestinian Authority territory “touches the most exposed nerve of Israeli society in recent years and creates a real potential for security risk.”