Israel Matzav

Beer Sheva driver tells police he picked boys up from Kfar Etzion on Thursday

A driver from Beer Sheva told police on Saturday that he picked up the three boys who have since been kidnapped at a hitchhiking post in Kfar Etzion.

Meanwhile, the last person to have seen the boys seems to be a Beersheba resident who picked up two of them from the hitchhiking post.

"On Thursday evening I was on my way to pick up my son, and on the way I took two of the three boys who were kidnapped. I talked to them about the dangers of hitchhiking in the dark, especially in a dangerous area. They tried to calm me and said that everything would be all right, but their trip certainly wasn't all right. I warned them about the risks, but they said that everything would be okay," the driver said.

He informed police and the Shin Bet that he had picked them up hours before they were abducted.

The driver said that on Thursday night he and his wife had gone shopping. At about 7 p.m., he had to pick up his son at an extracurricular activity. He saw two boys flagging him down. "I gave them a hand signal that I was staying in the city, but they let me know they needed to get to the other side of town. I picked them up and dropped them off at the nearby road junction.

Even though they were only in the car for a little while, I spoke to them about how dangerous hitchhiking is, especially when they told me they were headed for the South Hebron Hills area."

"They told me they'd be careful and everything would be all right. I dropped them off and went on my way. I used to live in the South Hebron Hills, and I know the dangers of traveling in that area," he said.

The next day, the man said, he saw the boys' pictures on social media sites and realized that two of them were the ones he'd picked up.

"When I gave my testimony to the Shin Bet, they confirmed that these were in fact two of the boys, and said that I'd given them a missing piece of the puzzle," he said.

It sounds like they were heading to the South Hebron Hills. Given that they lived in areas that are all north of Gush Etzion, one has to wonder why.  (And that's not to excuse the kidnapping in any way, shape or form).

Labels: Gush Etzion, kidnapping, Palestinian terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:19 PM