Rescue workers removing the body of IDF soldier Oleg Shaichat, found Monday in the north. (Baz Ratner)
Posted on 07/28/2003 5:42:30 AM PDT by yonif
The IDF and Israel police have just announced that they have found the body of Cpl. Oleg Shaikhet, 20, of Upper Nazareth. Shaikhet went missing last Monday after leaving his base at IDF Northern Command headquarters in Safed.
In a statement just released, police say that trackers and volunteers had discovered a body buried in open land this afternoon between Kfar Kana and Mash-had, near Nazerth. They believe that the body is that of Shaikhet.
Police forensic teams are now conducting an extensive investigation as to what happened to the young soldier.
No other details cannot be divulged at this time due to a publicity ban which was imposed by the Nazareth Magistrate's Court on Friday morning at the request of the police.
Police are investigating the possibilities that Shaikhet had been kidnapped and killed by hostile elements, said Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi.
Police did receive one lead from a female IDF officer who said she had hitched a ride with Shaikhet from the Amiad junction, north of Tiberias, where he had alighted from a bus on Monday evening.
The officer said she got off at the Golani junction, but understood that Shaikhet went on with the lift as far as the Beit Rimon intersection, where there is a turnoff from the main Tiberias to Haifa road that leads through Arab villages, including Kafr Kana, to Nazareth and Upper Nazareth.
The information was publicized via the media on Thursday and, as a result, the driver of the vehicle who gave the two a lift contacted the police, who gave no further details about his testimony. The driver is not a suspect. Shaikhet's family had visited the police's forward command post near Kafr Kanna on Sunday afternoon and was briefed by senior officers about the latest developments and the ongoing search operations.
The information garnered on Friday and Sunday has strengthened the belief that Shaikhet was kidnapped or murdered for nationalistic reasons. Channel 2 reported that it was possible that Shaikhet had been abducted not by Palestinians but elements associated with Hizbullah in Lebanon. There was no confirmation from police sources about such a line of inquiry. Some 300 civilians had joined with nearly 600 policemen, soldiers, and volunteers to help in the searches which were concentrated in a relatively small area between Kafr Kana and Upper Nazareth.
The searchers included police and volunteers on horseback, cross-country motorcyclists, and owners of all-terrain vehicles and jeeps, as well as people equipped with just hiking boots, hats, and water bottles.
They were assisted by a police helicopter, which scoured the area from above, and tracker dogs and their handlers combing open fields, brush, and woodland.
Shaikhet's mother, Olga, made an emotional plea on Friday to those believed holding her son to safeguard his welfare and ensure his safe return. She expressed the belief that Oleg was alive, and offered a reward for information leading to his return.
Olga, her husband, Anissim, their elder son, Adam, 25, and his cousin George Siydyan, visited part of the area where the searches for Oleg have been concentrated and later returned to their home.
The family does not let journalists into its apartment in order to preserve a semblance of privacy, but Oleg's brother Adam Shaikhet stepped outside to speak to The Jerusalem Post. 'It is naturally very difficult for me, but especially for my parents, who are finding it hard to comprehend and come to terms with what happened to him,' said Adam.
Despite the warnings about possible kidnapping attempts, Oleg Shaikhet continued to hitch rides on his way between home and his army base, because it usually proved quicker than using public transportation.
'There is no direct bus route from Safed to Upper Nazareth, so he hitchhiked,' said Adam, 25, who also served in the IDF. 'We tried to persuade him to use the buses but he said that it would take him four or five hours to get home and, besides, he said all the other soldiers hitched rides.
'The thing is, he truly believes in peaceful coexistence and he is very moderate, liberal, in his views. If, God forbid, something has happened to him [at the hands of Palestinian terrorists] it would be the most illogical thing of all - because of who he is and what he believes.'
By Uri Ash, Haaretz Correspondent
The body of IDF soldier Corporal Oleg Shaichat, who has been missing for a week, was found buried in an olive grove between the Arab villages of Kafr Kana and Mashad in the north of Israel, it was released for publication Monday.
According to initial police investigation, Shaichat was abducted at Beit Rimon Junction and was then transferred to a nearby field where he was murdered.
According to Northern District Police Commander Major General Yaakov Borovsky, the body was found by volunteers searching the area. Borovsky said the specific area was scoured after belonging of Shaichat, which he left behind on purpose, were found nearby.
Borovsky added that the condition of the body and other details were not allowed to be released as a gag order has been imposed on the case. "The murder was for nationalist motives. We do not yet know the identity of the murderers, and therefore the question whether they were Israeli Arabs or Palestinians remains open," Borovsky said.
Some 400 policemen and volunteers searched Monday morning the area of Kafr Kana in the north of the country.
Nazareth Mayor Rames Jarrisi and heads of Arab councils on Friday issued a call to local residents to help in the search for Shaichat.
"'The thing is, he truly believes in peaceful coexistence and he is very moderate, liberal, in his views. If, God forbid, something has happened to him [at the hands of Palestinian terrorists] it would be the most illogical thing of all - because of who he is and what he believes.'"Liberals, meet reality. Reality, meet liberals.
Rescue workers removing the body of IDF soldier Oleg Shaichat, found Monday in the north. (Baz Ratner)
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