IDF troops arrest three Palestinian Authority police officers who illegally set up roadblock in area under Israeli control, abducted Israeli reserve soldier and beat him while illegally detaining him.By World Israel News StaffIsraeli forces have arrested three Palestinian Authority police officers who set up an illegal checkpoint in Area C of Samaria and assaulted and illegally detained an Israeli reservist near Beitunia last month.The IDF announced that the three PA officers were arrested this week and are being questioned by Israeli security forces over the August 23 incident involving reservist Shlomo Rosenthal.The military said the Palestinian officers had exceeded their authority by operating in Area C, where Israel retains full control under the arrangements governing Judea and Samaria.“The security establishment defined the incident as a serious deviation by the Palestinian security forces, involving danger to the life of the Israeli civilian and the use of aggressive and severe force against him,” the IDF said.The military added that security coordination with the Palestinian Authority would continue in accordance with government policy, while stressing that such incidents would not be accepted.“The IDF conducts security coordination in accordance with the instructions of the political echelon,” the military said. “At the same time, the IDF will not accept any deviation from procedures.”Rosenthal, an IDF reservist who was off duty and dressed in civilian clothing at the time, was driving toward Route 443 along a road in the Binyamin region when he encountered a roadblock near Beitunia. He was carrying an army-issued firearm.Rosenthal later said he initially assumed the checkpoint was Israeli. When he approached, however, the men identified themselves as Palestinian police officers.According to Rosenthal’s account, the officers surrounded his vehicle and attempted to take his weapon. He said they then assaulted him, used pepper spray, broke his glasses and seized his firearm, phone and vehicle keys before handcuffing him and putting him inside a Palestinian police vehicle.“They pulled me over and opened the door,” Rosenthal recalled following the incident, describing the moment he realized the men were Palestinian Authority police rather than Israeli officers.He said the Palestinian officers subsequently drove him for roughly half an hour toward Ramallah while he remained handcuffed. At some point during the journey, he was permitted to speak with a representative of Israel’s District Coordination and Liaison office, and he was eventually transferred into Israeli custody.The case initially generated confusion after Israeli authorities issued an account suggesting that Palestinian security personnel had intervened because Rosenthal had entered a Palestinian-controlled area and was in immediate danger.That version was later changed.An IDF investigation determined that Rosenthal had been traveling in Area C and that the Palestinian officers had established the checkpoint there on their own initiative. The investigation also concluded that they detained him themselves before eventually handing him over to Israeli forces.The findings supported Rosenthal’s account of the incident and contradicted the initial explanation that the Palestinian Authority officers had arrived in order to protect or extract him from a dangerous situation.Rosenthal rejected that original explanation after the incident, calling it “a complete lie.” He maintained that he had remained on the Ma’ozim route in Area C, a road he had traveled previously.The arrests were welcomed by Israel Ganz, head of the Binyamin Regional Council and chairman of the Yesha Council, who said they sent a message that Palestinian security forces could not independently operate against Israelis in Area C.“This is an important and necessary step that sends a clear message: The State of Israel is sovereign in Area C,” Ganz said.The post IDF arrests three Palestinian officers over abduction of reserve soldier appeared first on World Israel News.