A Jewish settler was reported missing in the West Bank on Saturday, amid media reports that a group seeking to avenge the death of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy had claimed to have killed him.
Al Jazirah TV said that a group called “Aqsa Martyrs” carried out the execution of the chief of Elon Moreh settlement in revenge for Mohamed Al-Durra, the Palestinian boy whose death last Saturday in his father's arms by Israeli fire in the Gaza Strip was caught on camera and provoked outrage around the world.
The station said its office in the West Bank town of Ramallah had received an anonymous call from the group claiming responsibility.
According to AFP, the settler was identified as Hillel Liberman, a member of the religious seminary at Joseph's Tomb, the Jewish shrine in Nablus that was destroyed by Palestinians Saturday after the Israeli army withdraw from the area, the scene of some of the bloodiest clashes in more than a week of deadly Israeli-Palestinian unrest.
Residents of Jewish settlement of Elon Moreh near Nablus, a Palestinian-ruled town in the northern West Bank, have joined the Israeli army and police in searching the region for Liberman, said the agency.
Israeli army radio was quoted by AFP as reporting the settler may have wanted to pray alone after Israel handed the shrine over to Palestinian control, or may have been kidnapped or killed by Palestinians -- (Several Sources)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
