June 29, 2006 07:00 Jerusalem Standard Time
It is with a heavy heart that we can now confirm that Eliyahu Pinchas,
the son of Miriam and Yitro Asheri of Itamar, 18, was in fact murdered
by terrorists on Sunday, June 15, 2006. Eliyahu was shot in the head
immediately upon his capture and signs of struggle were visible on the
body. Eliyahu was found dumped and partially buried in a field near
the A-Tira neighborhood outside Ramallah.
Eliyahu Pinchas, may HaShem keep him and safe keep his soul, will be
buried on the holy Mount of Olives after a funeral procession that
will depart from the Sanhedriyah neighborhood of Jerusalem at 2:30
P.M.
Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh, OC Central Command, told IDF Radio this morning
that on Wednesday, Shin Bet operatives, assisted by elite police and
IDF forces arrested Popular Resistance Committees member Osam Abu
Rajil, who was suspected to have been involved in the kidnapping. Abu
Rajil, who was in fact personally involved in the kidnapping, led the
forces to a mountainside north of Ramallah, where Eliyahu's body was
found buried,
Naveh also told IDF Radio that the cell that abducted and murdered
Eliyahu was recruited, instructed and paid by Hamas Gaza for the
operation.
On Wednesday, dozens of students from the Neveh Tzuf Yeshiva took part
in a search for Eliyahu. Standing at the entrance to the nearby
Benjamin Region towns of Shilo and Ofra, the boys held photographs of
their missing friend, stopped cars and asked the drivers heading for
work if they hasd possibly seen him or maybe even given him a ride.
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Australian's son executed
June 29, 2006 - 3:27PM
Copyright (c) 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald.
Palestinian militants claim they've executed an Israeli settler, the
son of an Australian.
The body of Eliyahu Asheri, 18, was found overnight in the West Bank
city of Ramallah, news agencies reported Palestinian security sources
as saying.
Initially the Jerusalem Post website reported that a charred body
found in the Ramallah area was not Asheri's but a Palestinian killed
in a feud.
But it later reported that Israeli troops had confirmed the body was
that of Asheri.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said, "Israeli
authorities have confirmed that a body recovered in Ramallah is that
of Israeli national Eliyahu Asheri.
"Mr Asheri was kidnapped in the West Bank by Palestinian militants.
"`We utterly condemn such barbaric acts which do nothing for the
prospect of a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict.''
Eliyahu's mother had earlier pleaded to the kidnappers to spare her son's life.
"We ask them to return him alive to us and call on the public to pray
for his wellbeing. He had not done anything wrong and there is no
reason why they should do him wrong,'' Miriam Asheri was quoted as
saying on the ynetnews.com website.
The website said Eliyahu had been kidnapped at a hitchhiking spot.
The Australian Jewish News reported this week that Eliyahu's father,
Yitro Asheri, is originally from Adelaide. It said he converted to
Judaism 20 years ago and moved to Israel shortly after.
Eliyahu had been kidnapped over the weekend by the Popular Resistance
Committees.
The group issued a statement today in Gaza saying it had executed the
18-year-old.
The group, which has links to the ruling Hamas, had threatened to
execute the Israeli if Israel did not halt its invasion of Gaza.
St Kilda Rabbi Philip Heilbrunn, who converted Yitro Asheri about 20
years ago, had earlier called on members of the Jewish community to
pray for the kidnapped man.
"A young boy, Eliyahu Pinchas Asheri, son of Yitro Asheri, is the
child of a wonderful ger tzedek [convert] whom I converted over 20
years ago. Please ask everyone to say tehillim for him as well. His
father is a most remarkable person who is a real tzaddik,'' the Rabbi
said in a statement, quoted in the Australian Jewish News.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2006/06/29/1151174307183.html
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Posted with permission by Dr. Mike Cohen, The Galilee Institute
http://www.gogalil.com
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