Israeli reserve soldier beaten, abducted by PA police in Area C, his lawyers say

An Israeli reserve soldier was reportedly beaten, disarmed, and abducted by Palestinian Authority (PA) police in Area C of Judea and Samaria on Sunday night. The soldier, in civilian clothes and carrying his personal weapon, encountered an illegal PA roadblock near Beitunia while traveling from the Gush Talmonim bloc toward Route 443. According to his attorney, Chaim Bleicher of Honenu, PA officers pepper-sprayed and beat the soldier when he refused to surrender his weapon, then handcuffed him and drove him into Area A near Ramallah. He was held for approximately an hour before being transferred to IDF forces, suffering bruising and burns.

“This is an extremely serious incident,” Bleicher wrote, demanding the arrest of the Palestinian police officers involved. “Armed Palestinian police officers entered Area C in violation of the law, endangered the security of the area, and assaulted and abducted an Israeli citizen.”

The Civil Administration initially issued an incorrect statement suggesting the Israeli had entered Area A but later retracted it, clarifying the incident occurred in Area C. The Binyamin Regional Council criticized the Civil Administration's initial response and called for the cancellation of the Oslo Accords, citing the PA police's unauthorized activity in Area C.