Murder of Ofir Rahum
| Murder of Ofir Rahum | |
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| Part of the Second Intifada militancy campaign | |
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  The attack site
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| Location | Outskirts of Ramallah |
| Date | January 17, 2001 |
| Attack type | Shooting attack |
| Deaths | a 16-year-old Israeli civilian (Ofir Rahum) |
| Perpetrator | Three Palestinian gunmen |
The murder of Ofir Rahum was a shooting attack which occurred on January 17, 2001, in which Palestinian militants killed 16-year-old Israeli high school student Ofir Rahum.
Rahum was lured over the Internet by Mona Jaud Awana, a 24 year-old Palestinian PLA Collaborator from Bir Nabala, who seduced Rahum through an online chat by pretending to be a young American tourist called Sally. She invited him to meet her in Jerusalem for a romantic meeting and then drove him to the outskirts of Ramallah where Palestinian terrorists shot him at close range.[1][2]
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[edit] History
Mona Awana, later arrested by the Israeli police, said she decided the day the Palestinians carried out the lynching of two Israelis soldiers in Ramallah in late 2000 to abduct an Israeli and murder him. Mona had been present at the Ramallah lynching, and said she was "excited" by what she saw. Soon after, she began contacting Israelis on the Internet.[3] Awana chatted with several Israeli teenagers on chat rooms and engaged in an online romance with Rachum. In conversations over several months she pressed for a meeting in Jerusalem. When Rahum suggested a venue closer to his home, she claimed she had no car but promised to arrange for his return by 5 p.m. Employing sexual innuendos she persuaded him to meet her. "You don't know how much I am waiting for Wednesday," she wrote, two days before the murder.[4] When they met, she convinced him to accompany her to Ramallah.[5]
[edit] The murder
Driving toward Ramallah, she stopped at a prearranged location and bolted from the car. [6] Another vehicle drove up and three Palestinian gunmen inside shot Ofir more than 15 times. One drove off with Ofir's body and dumped it, while the others fled in the second vehicle.[7]
[edit] Aftermath
Amana Jawad, 25, was arrested in Bir Nabala after a massive police and army operation.[8] She confessed to her involvement in the murder,[9] together with two senior Ramallah-area Fatah Tanzim operatives, Hassan Alkadi and Abdul Fatah Doleh of Beituniya.[10]
Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations wrote to the Secretary-General to protest the "recent acts of Palestinian terrorism directed against Israeli civilians".[11]
Awana was convicted of murder on February 2003 [12] and given a life sentence.[13]
On October 18, 2011, Awana was released to Gaza as part of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange between Israel and Hamas.[14] Awana is now residing in exile in Turkey.[15]
On December 20, 2011 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met Awana in Ankara, for which he was criticized by Israel.[16][17]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Israel's 'First Internet Murder'". Wired. 19 January 2001. http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/01/41300.
- ^ The Murder of Ofir Rahum
- ^ education.gov.il
- ^ Ofir's Fatal Attraction: An Israeli boy looks for love online and meets a vengeful Palestinian
- ^ Terror on the Internet: the new arena, the new challenges, By Gabriel Weimann, Published 2006 US Institute of Peace Press ISBN 1929223714, page 132
- ^ Israel's 'First Internet Murder'
- ^ Ofir Rahum, mfa site
- ^ BBC News, 21 January, 2001
- ^ BBC, Woman 'confesses to internet murder'
- ^ Senior Fatah-Tanzim operatives responsible for murder of Ofir Rahum - 25-Feb-2001
- ^ Letter dated 23 January 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General
- ^ Ynet, Hebrew 21.10.03
- ^ Ynet, Hebrew 6.11.03
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ Levy, Elior (21 December 2011). "Abbas meets freed Palestinian prisoners in Ankara". YNET. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4165039,00.html. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ ABU TOAMEH, KHALED (2011-12-21). "Abbas putting extremist murderers on pedestal". The Jerusalem Post. http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=250412. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
[edit] External links
- Israel's 'First Internet Murder' - published on Wired on January 19, 2001
- Woman arrested after Israeli youth lured to online death - published on The Guardian on January 20, 2001
- Israeli boy killed after love lure on internet - published on The Daily Telegraph on January 19, 2001
- Israelis Grieve as Youth Who Was Lured to His Death on the Internet Is Buried - published on The New York Times on January 20, 2001
- Another Tack: Ceremony or no ceremony - published on The Jerusalem Post on April 24, 2008
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