Palestinian Authority security forces intervened this week to extract a 22-year-old Jewish Israeli woman who was found wandering inside the Palestinian city of Yericho, an area where Israelis are legally barred from entering, Israeli officials confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration told The Times of Israel that Israeli authorities contacted Palestinian Authority officials in Ramallah after receiving reports that the woman was stranded inside the Palestinian-controlled city.

PA security forces located the woman and transferred her to Israeli forces, who then handed her over to police for questioning. A preliminary inquiry found that she had mistakenly taken a “wrong turn” and entered Yericho unintentionally, according to the Civil Administration.

Israeli officials used the incident to issue a renewed warning to the public, stressing that Israeli civilians are prohibited by law from entering Area A of the West Bank, which includes major Palestinian cities such as Yericho. Such entries are considered dangerous and can quickly escalate into life-threatening situations, security officials have repeatedly warned.

The episode underscores the continued security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, even amid heightened tensions and ongoing conflict.

According to the Civil Administration, PA forces have assisted in several similar extractions over the past month, helping Israeli civilians who inadvertently crossed into Area A to be safely returned to Israeli custody.

While Israeli officials publicly reiterate the illegality and risks of entering Palestinian-controlled areas, the repeated incidents have raised concern within the security establishment about navigation errors, lack of situational awareness, and the continued reliance on Palestinian security forces to prevent potentially deadly outcomes.

Israeli police are continuing to question the woman to determine how she entered the area and whether any additional factors were involved.

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