Palestinian security officers detained an armed Israeli reservist overnight on a side road near Beitunia, west of Ramallah, in an incident that took place in Area C of the West Bank and is now under investigation by Israeli authorities.
Video from the scene shows Palestinian security personnel standing beside the Israeli man’s vehicle with the door open. “We are the Palestinian police,” one officer can be heard telling him.
‘We are the Palestinian police’: armed reservist detained near Ramallah
According to Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, the reservist’s weapon was also taken during the incident.
The Civil Administration initially linked the case to two other overnight incidents in which Israelis entered Palestinian-controlled areas in Jericho and Bethlehem and required rescue. It later issued a correction, saying the reservist had not entered Area A.
“Following the notice distributed last night, we wish to clarify that due to an error in the initial report received by the Civil Administration, incorrect information was included, and we regret this,” the administration said. “The resident mentioned in the notice did not enter Area A, but was in its vicinity in Area C. The incident is being investigated.”
According to Israeli security officials, a preliminary review found that a Palestinian security force was nearby in Area A when it noticed a group of Palestinians gathering around the reservist.
The officers believed he could be in immediate danger and approached his location. At the same time, the Palestinian security personnel contacted Israeli forces through established coordination channels in order to transfer the reservist to them, the officials said.
Israeli authorities are examining the circumstances in which the Palestinian officers entered Area C and how they acted at the scene.
The Binyamin Regional Council strongly criticized the Civil Administration’s initial account, arguing that the focus should have been on the Palestinian officers’ presence in Area C rather than on the Israeli resident.
“The council strongly protests the Civil Administration’s announcement, which chose to point an accusing finger at the resident by claiming he traveled in a dangerous area, instead of treating with severity the prohibited activity of Palestinian Authority police in Area C,” it said.
Ganz said the incident showed what he described as the collapse of the arrangements established under the Oslo Accords.
“It is unacceptable that Mahmoud Abbas’ police operate contrary to the agreements in Area C, detain a reserve soldier and take his weapon, while the State of Israel blames the Israeli who was driving on the road,” he said.
Under the Oslo framework, Area A is under Palestinian civil and security control, while Area C remains under full Israeli civil and security control.
Similar disputes have occurred in the past over Palestinian police activity near or inside Area C. In one previous case in the Jordan Valley, Palestinian security personnel were filmed carrying out traffic enforcement, prompting settlement leaders to demand that the IDF clarify the limits of the Palestinian Authority’s jurisdiction.