A soldier serving as a jail warden in the Military Police was arrested on suspicion of faking the abduction of a Palestinian Arab and demanding a ransom from his family, according to a report by Galei Tzahal's Doron Kadosh.
According to the report, the Arab, who attempted to infiltrate Israeli territory, was arrested by the security forces and taken to a military detention facility in the Gush Etzion area. During the detention, the soldier photographed the detainee and sent it to his family, claiming that he abducted him and demanding payment for his release.
The Arab's family initially contacted the Israeli police, and security forces, including the Shin Bet and its Jewish Department, were deployed due to a fear of a terror-related incident. After tracing the Arab's cellphone, it turned out that he was in the detention facility, and not abducted.
The soldier was arrested and taken for interrogation. Because the suspect serves in the Military Police, the case was transferred to the IDF's Internal Investigations Unit.
The IDF Spokesperson's Unit stated: "Following the incident, an investigation was opened. Naturally, we will not elaborate on the details of the investigation as it is ongoing."