A group of Palestinian Authority Arab workers who entered Israel illegally are believed to have beaten 70-year-old Rehovot farmer David Ben-Kafra to death at Moshav Pedaya for nationalistic reasons.
“This is a nationalistic matter — he had no enemies,” a heartbroken family member told Israel HaYom late in the day. “He was a father of five, a grandfather of 14. He was loved by everyone; he never had problems with anyone.”
However, “We are waiting for information from the police and are certain they will do their job faithfully,” said the victim’s son, Daniel Bar, who serves as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Religious Services and currently also as interim spokesperson for the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
Members of the centrally-located moshav called police when they found Ben-Kafra with severe head wounds and other injuries. Police were told by other workers that he was assaulted by several Palestinian Authority workers at the moshav orchard. Ben-Kafra was immediately rushed to Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center in nearby Tzrifin, but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police have launched an investigation into the attack, and said a nationalist motive for the murder has not yet been established. However, according to initial information indicates the attackers were indeed PA Arabs who were illegally residing in pre-1967 Israel.