A senior Palestinian Authority intelligence officer was arrested Thursday on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of an IDF soldier in the Hebron area about a week ago, according to a report by Kol HaYehudi. The suspect, identified as Waleed Hamdan al-Froukh, serves as an intelligence officer in the Hebron area and is a resident of the region. The soldier, a Bedouin from southern Israel, was found earlier in Tarqumiya and said he had been abducted. Police have not confirmed the suspect's PA affiliation.
A new report by Kol HaYehudi, published Thursday evening, identifies the suspect arrested earlier in connection with the kidnapping of an IDF soldier as a senior intelligence officer in the Palestinian Authority. The suspect, Waleed Hamdan al-Froukh, was arrested by Israeli police overnight, according to the report, which cites a police statement confirming the arrest of a Hebron-area resident on suspicion of involvement in the abduction of an IDF soldier about a week ago.
The soldier, a Bedouin Israeli from the south, was located in the West Bank town of Tarqumiya and told authorities he had been kidnapped. As The Zioneer reported at 18:06, a suspect was initially arrested on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping, with the background described as criminal. The new report alleges that the suspect holds a senior intelligence role in the PA's security apparatus in the Hebron district.
The report notes that PA security personnel have been implicated in kidnappings of Israeli civilians, particularly Arab Israelis, over the years, citing a past case during the Second Intifada involving a senior PA Preventive Security officer in the Negev. Police have not officially confirmed the suspect's PA affiliation. The case has been transferred to the Military Police for investigation.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake