A political storm erupted in Yehuda and Shomron after an IDF soldier serving in a reconnaissance unit, who was home on leave, was arrested on Shabbos for intervening to save a Jew from an Arab mob near the village of Al-Mughayyir on Erev Shabbos.

The incident began on Friday when dozens of Arabs carried out a lynching attempt against a Jewish shepherd in the Shomron. They hurled explosives and stones at him from close-range, placing him in danger and prompting him to call both security forces and residents of nearby farms for help.

The 19-year-old soldier, who was at his home for Shabbos at a nearby farm, rushed to the scene to assist the shepherd until security forces arrived. He assessed the situation and acted with restraint to protect the shepherd. He did not fire his weapon and waited for IDF forces to arrive. After the forces reached the scene, they dispersed the rioters using crowd-control measures, and the shepherd returned safely to the farm with his flock.

However,  despite the fact that the incident ended without further escalation, Arabs media channels launched a libelous incitement campaign, claiming that the IDF soldier shot and wounded a Palestinian child. To “prove” their claim, they circulated an outdated photo of the soldier on social media along with edited video clips. According to local Jews, the campaign deliberately targeted the soldier, who is well-known in the area through his activities at local farms.

Police said that the interagency task force operating in the Yehuda and Shomron District received a report of a shooting victim in the area of al-Mughayyir and information suggesting the possible involvement of an Israeli civilian. An investigation was opened, and efforts were launched to locate the suspect.

On Shabbos, detectives from the task force, together with officers from the Binyamin police station and Border Police forces in Yehuda and Shomron, arrested the “suspect”—a 19-year-old resident of the Binyamin region and an IDF soldier on active duty who was on leave, the police said. He was transferred for questioning in coordination with the IDF and the Military Police Criminal Investigation Division.

“It’s unfathomable that a soldier who goes out to defend civilians against dozens of rioters finds himself under arrest because of Hamas fake news,” residents said. “We demand his immediate release.”

On Sunday, following the storm of outrage and discussions between the police and the army, the soldier was released under restrictive conditions.

As part of the investigation of the case, the soldier clarified at the initial stage of the interrogation that he arrived at the scene with one sole purpose – to save lives. It also emerged that the incident occurred during a widespread disturbance in which many other soldiers were involved, while another military force was simultaneously operating in the sector. Since he is an IDF soldier and a Military Police investigation has been opened against him, it was clarified that the required response and clarification would be carried out solely within the military framework.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)