IDF soldier indicted for car-jacking vehicles he stopped at fake check point

Military prosecutors filed an indictment Monday against a soldier who allegedly created dummy checkpoints near his home in the West Bank, using them as a ploy to car-jack unsuspecting Palestinian drivers.

According to the indictment, the suspect, on three separate occasions in March, stood armed and uniformed in the middle of the road in the central West Bank and flagged incoming Palestinian cars to come to a halt, under the false impression that he was operating a checkpoint.

He then robbed the occupants of their vehicles, managing to steal three cars using the tactic. After using the vehicles for his personal needs, the soldier left them abandoned on the side of the road, the indictment said.

The indictment charged the suspect with charges of armed robbery and “inappropriate behavior.”

The soldier was arrested on May 4 and has been behind bars since.

With the submission of the indictment, the military court ruled to keep the suspect behind bars until the end of the proceedings against him, the IDF said in a statement.