A phone call, saying two Israeli bicycle riders had been nabbed by an Egyptian man and taken into Egypt, sent the Ramat Negev regional council into full alert on Monday evening.
The council mayor, Smulik Rifman, opened a war room in response to the situation, and began investigating who the missing people were. Rifman said that the police, with assistance of cellular data, eventually identified who the two were.
The two teenagers had crossed the border and were arrested by Egyptian security forces. The two bicycles were found in the area near the border.
Rifman said that eventually the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) contacted Egypt in attempts to bring the two back. At about 3 a.m. the two were returned to Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing, an IDF spokesperson said. Kerem Shalom is a border crossing near the Gaza Strip—Israel-Egypt borders.
“According to what I know, they are fine, although they were beaten a little bit by the Egyptians,” Rifman said, who maintained telephone contact with one of the teenager’s mother. “They had some bruises,” he said.
The IDF spokesperson said the teenagers’ actions seemed to be a mistake, “Just a silly mistake.”
However, further investigation by Israeli police found the two had decided to enact a brave deed before joining the army, a police spokesperson told the Epoch Times. “I’m happy it ended like that, on the one hand,” said Rifman. “But I’m also angry for the stupidity and foolishness of what they did. It is obviously not a heroic deed.”
The spokesperson emphasized that the cooperation between the Egyptian forces and the IDF was “very successful” and allowed a quick resolution to the incident. The teenagers were sent home after the investigation.
Israel’s current negotiations with Hamas for the return of captured soldier Gilad Shalit may have intensified the tension and elicited the swift reaction. Shalit was abducted by Hamas from Israel in June 2006.
The decision to exchange Shalit for hundreds of Hamas prisoners will be made in next few days according to Shalit’s father, Noam, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Additional reporting by Charlotte Cuthbertson and Nehora Shumaly.
The council mayor, Smulik Rifman, opened a war room in response to the situation, and began investigating who the missing people were. Rifman said that the police, with assistance of cellular data, eventually identified who the two were.
The two teenagers had crossed the border and were arrested by Egyptian security forces. The two bicycles were found in the area near the border.
Rifman said that eventually the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) contacted Egypt in attempts to bring the two back. At about 3 a.m. the two were returned to Israel through the Kerem Shalom crossing, an IDF spokesperson said. Kerem Shalom is a border crossing near the Gaza Strip—Israel-Egypt borders.
“According to what I know, they are fine, although they were beaten a little bit by the Egyptians,” Rifman said, who maintained telephone contact with one of the teenager’s mother. “They had some bruises,” he said.
The IDF spokesperson said the teenagers’ actions seemed to be a mistake, “Just a silly mistake.”
However, further investigation by Israeli police found the two had decided to enact a brave deed before joining the army, a police spokesperson told the Epoch Times. “I’m happy it ended like that, on the one hand,” said Rifman. “But I’m also angry for the stupidity and foolishness of what they did. It is obviously not a heroic deed.”
The spokesperson emphasized that the cooperation between the Egyptian forces and the IDF was “very successful” and allowed a quick resolution to the incident. The teenagers were sent home after the investigation.
Israel’s current negotiations with Hamas for the return of captured soldier Gilad Shalit may have intensified the tension and elicited the swift reaction. Shalit was abducted by Hamas from Israel in June 2006.
The decision to exchange Shalit for hundreds of Hamas prisoners will be made in next few days according to Shalit’s father, Noam, who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Additional reporting by Charlotte Cuthbertson and Nehora Shumaly.
