One would expect that any soldier has enough sense to realize one does not cry wolf, especially as Operation Brothers Return is ongoing. However, a soldier who was sentenced to remain on base decided to do just that. He phoned authorities and reported he was kidnapped. It appears the fact that some 15,000 soldiers are busy looking for the captive youths did not play into his decision to make the bogus call.

The sad incident occurred on Tuesday afternoon 26 Sivan. The soldier was ordered to remain on base for ten days in a disciplinary hearing in front of an officer. As the soldier left the hearing he decided to run off base and on his way to Tel Aviv he phoned the base command and reported he was kidnapped.

According to IDF officials, the soldier gave information leading them to believe he was kidnapped and in a vehicle. He spoke of a very large person who forced him into a vehicle with black glass, a large vehicle, and then drove off. The office immediately passed the information to military police and hundreds of military police officers and soldiers were activated immediately. A chopper was put into the air and roadblocks were set up.

Efforts were ongoing to ping his cell phone in an effort to track his location. The soldier was tracked in the Tel Aviv area at about 20:00 and taken into custody after authorities boarded a bus his was riding. He then admitted that he fabricated the entire story. He was turned over to military authorities.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)