Ofir Rahum

Ofir Rahum (1984 – January 17, 2001) was a 16 years old Israeli teenager and high school student from Ashkelon, Israel, who was murdered by Palestinians in the town of Ramallah. Ofir was lured over the internet by Mona Jaud Awana from Fatah's Tanzim. She presented herself as a young tourist called Sally who had fallen in love with Ofir through Internet chats and wanted to meet him. [ [http://www.gov.il/FirstGov/TopNavEng/EngSubjects/SafeSurfingEng/TeenagersEng/SSETSurfSafetly/SSETSTOphirRachum/ The Murder of Ofir Rahum] ]

Plan

Mona, who was 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 execute him. Mona had been present at the Ramallah lynching, and said she was “excited” by what she saw. Soon after, Mona started to make contact with Israelis on the Internet. [ [http://www.education.gov.il/children/page_21.htm education.gov.il] ] Awana contacted several Israeli teenagers via chat rooms. Then she targeted Rahum with whom she pretended to start an online romance. In conversations over several months Amneh Muna pressed for one thing--a meeting in Jerusalem. When Rahum suggested a venue closer to his home, she said she couldn't get a car. When he said his parents would object, she promised to get him back by 5. That vow and a few sexual innuendos persuaded the boy. "You don't know how much I am waiting for Wednesday," Muna wrote him two days before. It would be the last day of Ofir's life. [ [http://www.mywire.com/pubs/Newsweek/2001/04/02/314572?extID=10051 Ofir's Fatal AttractionAn Israeli boy looks for love online and meets a vengeful Palestinian] ] When he came to meet her, she convinced him to escort her to Ramallah. [Terror on the Internet: the new arena, the new challenges, By Gabriel Weimann, Published 2006 US Institute of Peace Press ISBN:1929223714, page 132]

Murder

Awana then drove him toward Ramallah. Somewhere on the way, according to Palestinian eye-witnesses interviewed by a French news agency [ [http://www.wired.com/politics/law/news/2001/01/41300 Israel's 'First Internet Murder'] ] , at a prearranged location, she bolted from the car, another vehicle drove up and three Palestinian gunmen inside shot Ofir more than 15 times. One terrorist drove off with Ofir's body and dumped it, while the others fled in the second vehicle. [ [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2001/Ofir+Rahum.htm Ofir Rahum, mfa site] ]

Aftermath

The 25-year-old woman, Amana Jawad, was arrested in Bir Nabala after a massive police and army operation. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1128455.stm BBC News, 21 January, 2001] ] She confessed of being involved in the murder. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1189804.stm BBC, Woman 'confesses to internet murder'] Muna confessed to her part in murdering Ofir Rahum along with two senior Ramallah-area Fatah Tanzim operatives - Hassan Alkadi and Abdul Fatah Doleh from Beituniya. [ [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2001/Senior+Fatah-Tanzim+operatives+responsible+for+mur.htmSenior Fatah-Tanzim operatives responsible for murder of Ofir Rahum - 25-Feb-2001] ] Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations wrote a letter addressed to the Secretary-General trying to draw his attentions to the "recent acts of Palestinian terrorism directed against Israeli civilians". [ [http://domino.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/361eea1cc08301c485256cf600606959/25bd7e256967d375852569e500476953!OpenDocument Letter dated 23 January 2001 from the Permanent Representative of Israelto the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General] ] Jawad was convicted in February 2003 for murdering Rahum [ [http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2799917,00.html Ynet, "Hebrew" 21.10.03] ] and was given a life sentence. [ [http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-2813523,00.html Ynet, "Hebrew" 6.11.03] ]

Notes

ee also

*Internet crime
*Online predator
*Children and minors in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

External links

* [http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1208870481728&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter Another Tack: Ceremony or no ceremony Apr. 24, 2008 Sarah Honig , The Jerusalem Post]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9407E3D9143CF933A15752C0A9679C8B63&sec=technology&spon=&pagewanted=all Israelis Grieve as Youth Who Was Lured to His Death on the Internet Is Buried, New York Times]