IDF forces this week arrested the three Palestinian police officers who were involved in setting up an illegal roadblock in Area C near Beitunia, beating up IDF reservist Shlomo Rosenthal and taking him to Ramallah.

The three are being interrogated by Israeli security forces.

The security establishment described the incident as “a serious breach by the PA security forces,” noting that the officers exceeded their authority in Area C, endangered Rosenthal and used “aggressive and severe” force against him.

The IDF clarified that security coordination with the PA is conducted in accordance with instructions from the political echelon, but added: “The IDF will not tolerate any deviation from procedures.”

The arrests came weeks after an IDF investigation determined that Palestinian Authority police officers had established a roadblock in Area C in the Binyamin region, where they are not authorized to operate.

Rosenthal was surrounded by about 30 Palestinian officers, who beat him, sprayed him with pepper spray, and kicked him in the face, breaking his glasses. They then took his gun, phone, and car keys and dragged him from his car while continuing to beat him. He was then handcuffed and driven to Ramallah.

The PA officers then contacted Civil Administration coordination officials and handed Rosenthal over to the IDF. Rosenthal was subsequently taken to the police station in Modi’in Illit, where he sought to file a complaint, but instead was criticized for having entered the area in the first place.

The IDF later backtracked and admitted that the PA police officers acted unlawfully.

After the investigation’s findings were published, Binyamin Regional Council head and Yesha Council chairman Yisrael Ganz welcomed the investigation of the incident but demanded further action.

“We must not settle for an investigation alone. This was an armed force belonging to the enemy—the Palestinian Authority—that established a roadblock within the sovereign territory of the State of Israel, abducted a soldier along with his weapon and transferred him into Palestinian Authority territory. A sovereign country cannot overlook such an incident,” he said.

Ganz demanded at the time that the officers involved be arrested and prosecuted in Israel, that coordination with the Palestinian Authority be halted and that an investigation be conducted within the Civil Administration.

Attorney Chaim Bleicher of Honenu asserts that the incident represents a grave danger to Israeli security control of Area C.

“This is an extremely serious incident in which armed Palestinian policemen entered Area C contrary to the law, endangered the security of the area, beat and abducted an Israeli citizen,” Bleicher wrote. “This constitutes a severe and dangerous infringement both against the individual soldier and against the sovereignty of the IDF and the security forces.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)