2 Israeli Soldiers Kidnaped, Released
TEL AVIV — Palestinian militants kidnaped two Israeli soldiers in the autonomous West Bank town of Janin, handing them over to the Palestine Liberation Organization police after a tense, hours-long standoff, the Israeli army said early today.
It was the first crisis of its kind since Israeli troops began withdrawing from Palestinian towns in the West Bank earlier this month in accordance with the Israel-PLO autonomy accords.
An army spokesman said the two border police officers entered Janin by car Wednesday night. Their path was blocked in the town’s center by Palestinian militants with weapons drawn, he added.
It was not clear why the Israelis entered Janin, and the spokesman would not say whether they were uniformed.
The militants seized the Israelis’ weapons and took them to a building in a nearby refugee camp, the statement said.
After several hours of negotiations with the Israeli army and the Palestinian police, the kidnapers released the Israelis.
It was not known whether the abductors were in custody.
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