Israeli media sites described an act of cooperation that is not often seen, wherein Palestinian bystanders, Palestinian police and Israeli police cooperated in order to return Palestinian deaf-mute boy home to his family. The boy, aged 13, was found walking on his own on Shabbos in the Palestinian Authority village of Huwara. The town, which lies close to Highway 60, sits some 2.5 miles south of Shechem.

The identity of the boy was unknown to the locals who found him wearing a t-shirt that had Hebrew writing. When attempts to communicate with the Deaf-Mute boy were unsuccessful, he was brought by residents to Palestinian Police officers. The Police were also unable to communicate with the boy, and based on the Hebrew writing n his shirt, it was assumed that he was Israeli. Palestinian police brought the boy to the IDF base in Samaria and the IDF transferred the boy to the Israeli police.

The Israeli police took care of the child, fed him and allowed him to rest. After continuing attempts to communicate with him, it was discovered that the boy was deaf-mute. Investigators attempted to discover who his parents were and conveyed his photo and his details to the Palestinian Authority by the Coordinator of Government Affairs in the Territories (COGAT)’s civil administration. Leaders in the surrounding villages were made aware of the boy’s plight and were told to keep an eye out for any reports of a missing boy. Around the same time, Palestinian police received a report that a boy had gone missing from the village of Betuniya southwest of Ramallah some 17 miles away. In a cooperative effort between Israeli police and their Palestinian counterparts, the boy was transferred to his family.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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