West Bank teens fake abduction

By · June 12, 2008

Two Israeli teenagers from the West Bank are suspected of faking their abduction by Palestinians.

The students from the community of Yitzhar were taken into Israeli custody early Thursday in a military raid on a Palestinian village near Nablus.

The teens had telephoned Israeli authorities claiming to have been abducted by Palestinians, but Israel Radio quoted police as saying they believe the two came to the village overnight of their own accord to vandalize property and were cornered by locals.

Initially the military also was led to believe that a third teen may have been snatched, but this proved to be false. The incident prompted Israel to mobilize its security forces for a large-scale dragnet of the area, abandoning planned counterterrorist missions.

Authorities said the teens would be charged with filing a false police complaint and required to compensate the state for the expense of the overnight “rescue.”