On Friday, an IDF soldier, Sgt. Tomer Hazan (20) of Bat Yam, was kidnapped and killed by a Palestinian Autjority Arab that he knew from his part-time job in a restaurant.
Hazan worked part-time in a restaurant, “Tsachi Meats”, along-side his would-be killer, Nidal Amar (42). His army service was in an Air Force base.
On Friday evening, Amar convinced Hazan to share a taxi with him. The terrorist then took Hazan to an open field north of Siniria (near Azun), killed him, and dumped his body in a well.
On Saturday, the Shabak raided the Amar house in Beit Amin near Kalkilya searching for Hazan. Under interrogation Amar admitted he kidnapped and killed Hazan in an attempt to free his brother, Nur al-Adin Amar, a PLO (Fatah) Tanzim terrorist held in Israeli jail since 2003.
Amar led them to the body, which the air force extricated from the 7 meter well with a helicopter.
Other Amar family members have been arrested and are under interrogation to see if they played a role in the murder. Security personnel are also talking with Nur al-Adin to see his role in the terrorist attack.
The owner of the restaurant claims that Nidal Amar had a valid work permit, which is unusual when a close relative is in jail for terrorist activities. The police and Shabak are checking on the claim.
A senior IDF officer said that Amar did not have a valid work permit and was within pre-1967 Israel illegally, but he was in the process of attempting to legally gaining permanent entry via the “family reunification” program, after marrying an Israeli Arab from Jujilya.
This is the first successful kidnapping of an Israeli soldier since Gilad Shalit was released from Hamas captivity, following a prisoner trade. Many people were concerned that the Shalit deal would bring about a rise in kidnappings, in an attempt to free more terrorists. The IDF has been warning of a recent rise in kidnapping attempts of IDF soldiers.