i love israel
02-01-03, 23:03
The Jerusalem Post Internet Staff Jan. 2, 2003
Yaacov Alon, whose Moroccan-born father Massoud Makhsoud was found slain in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, said the man trusted the Palestinians and was never afraid to visit them, despite the ongoing violence.
Alon's charred body was found near the settlement of Bekaot, along with his car, which was spotted from a helicopter, media reports said.
Searches were launched when the 70-year-old Alon failed to return home to Menahemiya, a community in northern Israel on Wednesday evening.
Security officials feared the worst particularly when Thursday morning the Al Aksa Brigades, an offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed its members had shot and killed an Israeli in retribution for the death of one of its members in a recent clash with the IDF.
After spotting the body in a car from a helicopter, officials said they believe Alon was indeed the victim of terrorists.
However, a senior commander told the radio that the authorities are still investigating the cause of death.
Palestinian reports said Alon had come to the village of Tamun in the northern West Bank to do business. Alon's son denied the report, saying his father's motives for going to the area were charitable.
"Perhaps he went to bring them some old clothing, to impoverished Palestinians. He would do that sometimes," Alon told Army Radio. "He always felt sorry for them, and believed in sharing with them."
"He wasn't afraid to go to visit them. He trusted them," Alon added. "He believed in coexistence, ever since he came from Morocco."
Alon denied foreign media reports that his father had gone to the northern West Bank village of Tamun to do business, saying his father had been out of business for five years.
Alon is expected to be buried on Friday morning in Tiberias. His body is undergoing an autopsy at Israel's forensic institute in Abu Kabir, Tel Aviv.
His son said the man had only recently purchased the burial plot and handed him the receipt for safekeeping."It's as though he felt something could happen," Alon said.
Yaacov Alon, whose Moroccan-born father Massoud Makhsoud was found slain in the Jordan Valley area of the West Bank, said the man trusted the Palestinians and was never afraid to visit them, despite the ongoing violence.
Alon's charred body was found near the settlement of Bekaot, along with his car, which was spotted from a helicopter, media reports said.
Searches were launched when the 70-year-old Alon failed to return home to Menahemiya, a community in northern Israel on Wednesday evening.
Security officials feared the worst particularly when Thursday morning the Al Aksa Brigades, an offshoot of Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, claimed its members had shot and killed an Israeli in retribution for the death of one of its members in a recent clash with the IDF.
After spotting the body in a car from a helicopter, officials said they believe Alon was indeed the victim of terrorists.
However, a senior commander told the radio that the authorities are still investigating the cause of death.
Palestinian reports said Alon had come to the village of Tamun in the northern West Bank to do business. Alon's son denied the report, saying his father's motives for going to the area were charitable.
"Perhaps he went to bring them some old clothing, to impoverished Palestinians. He would do that sometimes," Alon told Army Radio. "He always felt sorry for them, and believed in sharing with them."
"He wasn't afraid to go to visit them. He trusted them," Alon added. "He believed in coexistence, ever since he came from Morocco."
Alon denied foreign media reports that his father had gone to the northern West Bank village of Tamun to do business, saying his father had been out of business for five years.
Alon is expected to be buried on Friday morning in Tiberias. His body is undergoing an autopsy at Israel's forensic institute in Abu Kabir, Tel Aviv.
His son said the man had only recently purchased the burial plot and handed him the receipt for safekeeping."It's as though he felt something could happen," Alon said.