IDF soldier said arrested for faking the kidnapping of a Palestinian and demanding ransom

An IDF soldier from the Military Police has been arrested on suspicion of fabricating the kidnapping of a Palestinian and demanding a ransom for his release, Army Radio reports.

According to the report, the Palestinian had been arrested while attempting to illegally enter Israel from the West Bank, and he was taken to an army detention facility.

At the detention facility, a Military Police guard photographed the Palestinian detainee and sent the footage to his family, claiming that he had kidnapped him, the report says.

Army Radio says the soldier demanded that the family of the Palestinian send hom money in exchange for the release of their son.

According to the report, the Palestinian’s family contacted the police. Israeli security bodies initially believed the incident to be a matter of Jewish terrorism, but it later emerged that the Palestinian’s phone was located at an IDF detention facility.

The soldier involved in the case served in the Military Police — the IDF body that normally investigates soldiers — so the case will be handled by the military’s Internal Investigations Unit.

The IDF confirms the incident, saying an investigation has been launched, but adds that it “will not elaborate on the details of the investigation while it is ongoing.”