Israeli, PA Police Cooperate on Returning Lost Boy to Family

In an incident over the weekend, a young lost boy who appeared to be Israeli was found wandering the streets of the Arab village of Hawara and was returned to Israeli officials. The 13-year-old boy was discovered over the weekend, and was picked up by PA police and taken to an Israeli military base in the Binyamin region.

The boy was discovered wearing a sweatshirt with Hebrew writing on it. PA police sought to speak with the boy, but were unable to conduct a conversation with him, Israeli officials said. It was then that the PA police decided to return him to Israeli officials.

Israeli security officials took custody of the boy and provided him with first-aid, some food, and much attention. After attempting to establish communications with the boy, it emerged that he was deaf and could not speak. Investigators began a search for his parents, in an effort to discover who was responsible for him.

At about the same time, Israeli police got a report about a boy from the village of Beitounia who had gone missing, suffering from the same conditions as the youth. After examining the situation and determining that the child indeed belonged to the Beitounia family, police returned him to PA officials, In a statement, Israel police said that the incident was “a good example of cooperation and coexistence.”