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Palestinians say soldier was accompanied by two village elders to the separation fence, in an attempt to avoid a confrontation with some of the village youth.

By Avi Issacharoff for Haaretz

The Israel Defense Forces accidentally left behind a soldier Wednesday night after an operation in a West Bank village near Ramallah, eyewitnesses said.

According to Palestinian residents of Budrus, IDF forces entered the village with five vehicles, rousing local residents. The vehicles left after several minutes, leaving behind a soldier.

One villager told Haaretz that the soldier was frightened and asked two elders to assist him in leaving the village. The elders accompanied him to the separation fence, in an attempt to avoid a confrontation with some of the village youth, where they were met by the soldier’s officer, along with two other soldiers.

In response to the incident, the IDF said that contact was lost between forces and one soldier for several minutes and that the incident is being investigated.