Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Did Waze App Lead Israeli Soldiers Into Fierce West Bank Firefight?

A Palestinian man was killed and ten security officers were injured during the rescue of two Israeli soldiers who accidentally entered a Palestinian refugee camp after apparently being directed there by the Waze Smartphone app.

The two soldiers, an army driver and squad commander who were in uniform and carrying ammunition, entered the Qalandiyah refugee camp near Ramallah in the West Bank late on Monday night, according to reports.

Palestinians examine wreckage of vehicle after firefight with Israeli troops in West Bank refugee camp. Image by Getty Images

The soldiers’ jeep was attacked by a firebomb, causing them to leave the vehicle and separate. One of the soldiers remained out of contact for an hour after the firebombing.

The entrance of the soldiers led to rioting, including the firing of guns, rock throwing and firebombing, according to the IDF. The soldiers’ army vehicle was completely burned. Troops sent to extract the soldiers also came under attack when they entered the camp.

An armed Palestinian man, 22, was shot and killed during the rioting, according to the IDF.

Drivers can chose a Waze option that excludes Palestinian-controlled areas.

The IDF said it was investigating the incident, including the proper use of Waze.

“I learned ages ago the importance of navigating with the aid of a real map, and mainly to know the surrounding area and not to rely too heavily on technology which can lead the user astray,” Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon said Tuesday in Tel Aviv, hours after the incident.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.