Israel’s Shin Bet Security Service kidnapped on Tuesday Khalil Shawamra, a 29-year-old Palestinian policeman, on suspicion of involvement in the lynching of two Israeli soldiers last October in the West Bank city of Ramallah, reported Haaretz newspaper.
Ramallah is under full control of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
Shawamra, a regular policeman in the West Bank town of El Bireh near Ramallah, is reportedly suspected of stopping the two soldiers and then taking them to a Ramallah police station.
According to the paper, it is also possible that he opened the doors of the police station to allow crowds of Palestinians outside access to the two Israelis.
A statement released by the Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon’s office said that “Shawamra was captured near Ramallah, after a complicated operation by the IDF and the Shin Bet.”
Security sources refused to divulge specific details of the exact location of the arrest, “giving rise to suspicions that Shawamra was snatched from Palestinian controlled territory,” said the paper.
Last week, Israeli security forces arrested two other Palestinians suspected of taking part in the lynching.
A dozen suspects have been arrested, and in February two Palestinians went on trial at a military court over the lynching, which caused widespread outrage in Israel.
The Israeli government vowed that it would spare no effort in hunting down and capturing those involved, and launched a retaliatory strike on the Ramallah police station and numerous other Palestinian targets – Albawaba.com
