Forces scrambled over suspected terrorists – but the masked figures turned out to be Israelis

An incident in Samaria: female observers spotted four suspects at night, feared a terrorist cell and scrambled a foot patrol. The force located two masked individuals who identified themselves as Jews at the last moment. They were detained; suspicion they were returning from a Palestinian village after their vehicle overturned.

An incident that nearly ended in disaster occurred last night (Saturday to Sunday) in Samaria. In the early morning, female observers spotted four suspects descending from a road and running into open terrain, and scrambled a foot patrol after suspecting they were a terrorist cell on its way to carry out an attack. During the search with lighting devices and drawn weapons, the force identified two suspects hiding among the bushes, and at the last moment the two shouted that they were Jews. A preliminary investigation raised suspicion that the two, who were masked, were part of a group returning from a Palestinian village; their vehicle overturned and they fled into the fields. The two were detained. The incident highlights the risk in similar cases, as occurred two weeks ago in the Binyamin area, when three armed individuals were identified as Jews moments before fire was opened.