Jewish man carjacked by armed Palestinians to Qalqylia, rescued by PA police

Jewish man carjacked by armed Palestinians to Qalqylia, rescued by PA police:

Natan Said (71) from central Israel was carjacked by armed Palestinians, while driving near the Palestinian village of Nabi Ilyas on Saturday, who ordered him to drive to the nearby city of Qalqilya.

The driver, who is disabled, was safely extricated and handed over to IDF forces.

The incident occurred at around 14:00 Saturday when the man, who was driving alone, was stopped by Palestinians threatening him with a handgun, who planned to steal the car.

When they arrived in Qalqilya, the carjackers told the driver to get out of the vehicle. He quickly called the police, who reported the incident to the Civil Administration.

The IDF prepared to enter the city, but within an hour Palestinian security forces extricated the man, along with his car, and handed him over to the IDF.

Natan was on his way from the Samaria area to central Israel on his own when he felt something hit the back part of his vehicle, not far from the Palestinian village of Nabi Ilyas.

He said he saw the two Palestinians in a blue Toyota.

"They must have followed me. I stopped on the side of the road to see what had happened, and before I knew it, one of the Palestinians opened the door and pressed a gun to my head," he told Ynet.

"It's a very unpleasant feeling when you see a gun pressed against your head, and you don't know if it's loaded or not, and you can't do anything about it," Natan added.

"He told me 'Take me to the entrance to Qalqilya, and you're free to go.' We went to Qalqilya, where he told me to turn left to an orchard, and another Palestinian pulled me out of the car. They got into the car, left me in the middle of the road, and drove away," he continued.

He immediately called the police to report the theft. "I told them I was carjacked, and that two Palestinians had threatened me. I didn't know how to explain to them where I was, but I told them to turn to the Ituran company as I have a tracking device in my car," he explained.

He said the police operator on the line tried to calm him down when several jeeps of the Palestinian security services, which must have gotten an order to get there, showed up. Then additional jeeps arrived to locate the carjackers as well.

Natan noted he was treated very well: "They brought me something to drink and coffee, and made sure to calm me down."

Later he was informed his car had been found and he was taken to it. "The Palestinian police questioned me and accompanied me out of Qalqilya, where the Israeli police and the army were waiting for me, and they took me to be questioned at the Ariel police station," he said. "I definitely thought they might kill me, but God be blessed I got out of it."

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Last February, two IDF soldiers accidentally entered Palestinian city of Jenin in their military jeep and were attacked by Palestinian youth, who hirled rocks at them and their vehicle. One of their weapons was stolen as well.

Palestinian police helped rescue them from the mob, and the soldiers were taken to the Jalameh checkpoint in coordination with the Civil Administration.

Photos: Qalqilya main street; Natan Said, who was carjacked yesterday; Qalqylia as seen from central Israel; Rooftops in Qalqylia - Tel Aviv suburbs in central Israel can be seen in the distance