IDF troops take hundreds in cash, credit cards from Palestinian at checkpoint; IDF says it was error, items returned

IDF soldiers took hundreds of dollars in cash and credit cards from a Palestinian who was stopped for a search at a checkpoint in the Ramallah area of the West Bank, then returned them after a military probe, the Haaretz daily reports.

The military denies that the soldiers took the items on purpose, claiming the incident, which occurred during a routine search, has been portrayed incorrectly. The IDF has not punished the soldiers for the incident.

According to Haaretz, the Palestinian man reported the incident to the Palestinian Authority’s liaison office with Israel, which passed along information to the Israel Defense Forces.

Following a military probe, the IDF soldiers confessed to their commanders that they had taken the money and cards, and the army returned the items to the man, the report says.

“During the search of one of the vehicles, forces took an identity card [case], inside which were credit cards and cash. At the end of the activities, all the possessions were returned to the owner, but the ID was accidentally forgotten in the hands of the forces,” the IDF tells Haaretz.

The IDF says that after the request by the PA, the ID case and its contents were immediately returned to the owner.