Last update - 00:00 14/12/2007
Taxi driver abducted by Palestinians, rescued by IDF
By Yigal Hai, Haaretz Correspondent
A 50-year-old Israeli taxi driver from was kidnapped Thursday night by two Palestinians and taken to the West Bank. He was rescued by Israel Defense Forces troops a few hours later.
The two got on the man's taxi Thursday afternoon in Ramat Gan and asked him to drive them to the Arab village of Kafr Qasem, east of Tel Aviv. During the ride, the two assaulted him physically and verbally, and ordered him to take them to the West Bank village of Jamain.
When they entered the Palestinian Authority area, the two seized the driver's mobile phone and money, and left him by the side of the road.
The man asked a local family for help, and they let him use their phone. He called his cousin, who informed the police.
In a joint operation with the IDF, the driver was located and rescued. The taxi was later spotted in the West Bank, near Ariel.
Mesubim police chief Ami Dahan said that the kidnapping was criminally motivated. "The driver was stolen along with his cab, and was disposed of in the territories. They could have killed him there. At around 2 AM he was back at home," he said.