PA forces extract Israeli from Jericho who reported being kidnapped

Reports say woman told investigators she was assaulted by group of men at an apartment in the West Bank city after she was brought there unknowingly by a work acquaintance

An Israeli woman who reported having been kidnapped on Friday was extracted by the Palestinian Authority’s security forces from the West Bank city of Jericho, the military said.

The woman had called the police, saying she had been abducted. Hebrew media outlets reported that the alleged kidnapper is an acquaintance of the woman from work who, unbeknownst to her, drove her to an apartment in Jericho, where she told investigators a group of Palestinian men assaulted her before she was able to escape.

The Israel Defense Forces said that upon receiving the report of the suspected kidnapping, it dispatched troops to the scene to search for the woman.

Meanwhile, the Civil Administration, a branch of the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), worked with the PA’s security forces to locate her.

The PA security forces reached the area where the woman was located, extracted and protected her, and brought her to Israeli forces.

“The civilian was rescued, without any casualties in the incident,” the army said.

The woman is set to be questioned by Israeli authorities, including regarding the kidnapping claims. By law, Israelis are barred from entering West Bank areas controlled by the PA.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.