The father of the bride at a wedding is reputed to say I "have not lost a daughter I have gained a son," but for the family of Harel Toubi this stock phrase has taken on a whole new meaning.

Yesterday, for a moment, Harel Toubi an advisor to the Speaker of the Knesset and a resident of Rosh Tzurim in Gush Etzion, was afraid for his 5-year-old daughter. He had stopped his car for a moment to look for a fallen object. Suddenly an Arab entered the vehicle and sped away with the 5-year-old girl in the back seat.

Stunned at first, Toubi made a quick recovery and flagged down a Jewish vehicle. He and the driver drove off in hot pursuit while summoning help from the security forces.

The car thief was apparently surprised to find a little girl the back seat and left her at the entrance to the village of Al-Aroub, on the Jerusalem-Hebron highway, a place notorious for its stone throwing. The village is part of the A area that is under the jurisdiction of the PA.

A person who introduced himself as a PA policeman returned the abandoned child safe and sound to the Israeli police. The vehicle was later found abandoned in the Halhul area but the culprit was not apprehended.

A day after regaining his daughter, Toubi became the proud father of a newborn son.