Israeli family accidentally enters Palestinian town, returned safely
Family of five, who apparently got lost near Nablus, stopped by Palestinian security forces and handed over to IDF
An Israel family that accidentally entered a Palestinian town on Saturday was handed over to Israeli forces by their Palestinian counterparts, Hebrew language media reports said.
The family of five were travelling from Tiberias in the north to Beersheba in the south on route 90 which runs through the the Jordan Valley in the West Bank.
For some unknown reason they left the main road and accidentally entered the town of Tubas near Nablus, where they were stopped by Palestinian security, who later handed them safely over to the IDF.
Israel does not allow Israelis to enter parts of the West Bank that are under full Palestinian security control, fearing they might be attacked.
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Last year nine Jewish Israeli citizens were evacuated from Ramallah unharmed after local residents set their car on fire. The nine, all peace activists, had entered deliberately and were not harmed.
Israelis have bitter memories of the fate of those who enter Ramallah unprotected. At the beginning of the Second Intifada, two reservists, Vadim Nurzhits and Yossi Avrahami, accidentally entered the city. Once inside Ramallah, they were taken by Palestinian security officers to the city’s police station.
Local residents stormed the building and viciously murdered the two reserve soldiers, in what would later become known as the “Ramallah lynching.”
A picture from the scene, of Aziz Salha showing his bloody hands to a cheering crowd, remains one of the most recognizable images of the period.
Also last year, two IDF soldiers got lost while driving through the West Bank and accidentally entered the Qalandiya refugee camp. Their vehicle was also firebombed, forcing them to flee.
The incident prompted a large skirmish between Israeli forces and local residents, which resulted in one Palestinian being killed and dozens of injuries on both sides.
