Masked assailants attempt to abduct Bedouin IDF officer, steal his gun
The IDF officer was able to escape by hiding under a truck, which ran over his hand. His friend was forced to curse and insult his village while they recorded it.
By AARON REICHBedouin soldiers in the IDF(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
Masked assailants attempted to abduct an IDF officer after cornering him on the highway near Nazareth, assaulting him and stealing his gun and wallet, KAN reported.While driving with his friend, the officer, a Bedouin from Bir al-Maksur in the Lower Galilee, who has yet to be identified, was blocked on the road by three cars. Fifteen masked individuals got out of the cars, pulled the officer and his friend out of their car and attacked them with fists, iron rods and wrenches.According to KAN, the officer was able to escape from the scene, while his friend was rescued by the police. Both were hospitalized with numerous fractures.The officer told KAN the assailants were trying to abduct him.“I was trying to get my gun when they started to hit us,” he said. “They hit me in the head, got us out of our car and tried to kidnap me to put me in their Renault.“They dropped me on the floor, kicked me in the chest... I lost consciousness and woke up four times. Eventually, I hid underneath a truck. They drove over my hand and I had to put my hand in my mouth [to keep from screaming]. I was sure they were terrorists. They almost killed me.”Stranded and bleeding, the officer found someone to call an ambulance and the police.“They [the police] managed to find my friend’s vehicle that was abandoned,” the officer said. However, the assailants “stole my gun and the whole wallet. So far, they have not found the gun.”According to the officer, his friend was taken by the assailants to a secluded area and was forced to curse and insult his village while they recorded it. They let him go when they realized police were in the area.The police have arrested some suspects. However, it is believed the case is criminal in nature and not terrorism-related. The officer was not uniformed, which means it was unlikely they were able to identify him as an IDF officer.
Speaking to KAN, the officer’s father expressed disappointment with how the police handled the incident.“We are from Bir al-Maksur,” he said. “If it was a soldier from the Galilee, the entire country would speak.”The father dismissed any suspicion that it was other Bir al-Maksur residents who were behind the incident.“No way is this someone from our community who does not like the fact that my son is serving in the army,” he said. “I don’t know the detainees in the case.”
