Six Members of an Arab Family Arrested in Connection with the Kidnap-slaying of an Israeli Soldier

Six members of an Arab family, including a mother of five children, were arrested two weeks ago in connection with the kidnap-slaying of an Israeli soldier, Sgt. David Manos, whose remains were found in a cave in the West Bank on March 14, police sources disclosed Tuesday.

They identified the suspects as Lamia Abdallah and her husband, Tawfik, from Dir Baloot village in the Samaria district of the West Bank; Tahseen and Najah Abdallah, a related couple; Mustapha Abdallah, a construction worker; and Mohammad Abdallah, a teacher. Lamia Abdallah, who grew up in Brazil and holds Brazilian citizenship, was arrested a day after she gave birth to her fifth child.

According to the police, the suspects are not affiliated with any known terrorist organization but apparently decided to kidnap an Israeli soldier at random. Manos became their victim. He was last seen alive on November 6, 1984, hitch hiking from Haifa to his home in Petach Tikva. He became the object of a countrywide search which lasted for months.

The case was broken, the police said, when a resident of Deir Blaoot detained on suspicion of a criminal act informed on the gang. They were arrested and led police to the cave where they hid Manos’ body 18 months ago after strangling him to death.

Meanwhile, hundreds of security personnel are searching the area between Shefaram and Nazareth for two Arabs who attempted to murder a hitchhiking Israeli soldier Sunday night. The victim, Yosef Levy, a 46-year-old reservist who is secretary of Kibbutz Usha near Haifa, was picked up by two men near the Arab village of Kufer Manda. Once in their car, he was stabbed in the chest. He struggled with his assailants, the car was forced off the road and the two Arabs escaped.

Levy said he waited 20 minutes, bleeding, on the empty road until an Arab driver picked him up and took him to a hospital.