An IDF force entered the Arab village of Jaljulya, 45 minutes north of Jerusalem, last night to extricate two residents from Tapuach who got lost on a hike to Jerusalem and found themselves in the middle of an Arab village under total PLO control. Arab villagers opened fire towards the two, and they took cover in a house close to a mosque in the village. According to the IDF spokesman, when a crowd of Arabs surrounded the house and attempted to enter it, the two hikers took two hostages and contacted the IDF.
The two didn\'t know the name of the village they had entered, but IDF commanders correctly figured out their location.
After an IDF commander realized that PA security officials who had been alerted were acting too slowly, the decision was made by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to send in tanks and extricate the two from the village.
The mission ended without injury to IDF troops or the two Tapuach residents. Palestinian Authority officials were angered over the IDF decision to move in and not rely on PA forces to intervene. Two Israeli reservists were lynched in PLO-controlled Ramallah in Oct. 2000, when they made a wrong turn.
The two didn\'t know the name of the village they had entered, but IDF commanders correctly figured out their location.
After an IDF commander realized that PA security officials who had been alerted were acting too slowly, the decision was made by IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz, Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to send in tanks and extricate the two from the village.
The mission ended without injury to IDF troops or the two Tapuach residents. Palestinian Authority officials were angered over the IDF decision to move in and not rely on PA forces to intervene. Two Israeli reservists were lynched in PLO-controlled Ramallah in Oct. 2000, when they made a wrong turn.