Police say they guided an Israeli family out of Jericho a short while ago and detained the parents for questioning after they entered the Palestinian city with their infant son, allegedly to go shopping.
Jericho is located in the West Bank’s Area A, which is meant to be under full Palestinian Authority control and which Israeli civilians are prohibited from entering.
Upon receiving a report that the family had entered the city, officers identified the location of the parents and instructed them on how to exit, police say.
The parents, a Jerusalem couple in their 30s and 40s, were then questioned under caution at the Jordan Valley police station, in the northern West Bank settlement of Ma’ale Efrayim, according to police.
“Israel Police reiterates that the entrance of Israeli civilians to Area A is forbidden under law and poses a tangible threat to the lives of both those who enter and the security forces,” police say.
The statement adds that entering Area A illegally carries a penalty of up to a year in prison. There have been a string of recent incidents in which Israeli citizens have been escorted out of Area A after entering without authorization.
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