The family of missing IDF soldier Majdi Halabi marked five years since his disappearance on Monday. Halabi, of Dalyat el-Carmel in the Carmel mountains, a member of the Druze community, went missing in 2005 while making his way back to base. He was 19 years old at the time.
"For five years already, we've been praying that one day the door will open and Majdi will walk in,” Majdi's father Nazmi told Maariv. A police commander visits the family home once a month to update them on the case, he said, but they still have no clue as to Majdi's whereabouts.
Nazmi thanked supporters for helping in the search for Majdi. The family has conducted its own searches, in addition to the searches conducted by the IDF and police. Posters with his picture can be seen on the roads leading to the Druze town.
In 2007, the Born to Freedom Foundation offered a $10 million reward for information on Majdi's location. In 2008 a prisoner claimed Majdi had been taken captive and was held in the Palestinian Authority-controlled city of Shechem; however, police strongly doubted the authenticity of the report, which was never verified.
"What's hardest for us is not knowing. Not knowing what happened to our son, or where he is... That's the hardest thing,” Nazmi said. “It's been five years of praying for his safety, and praying that some day we will see him again.”
Guy Hever, who disappeared 12 years ago in the Golan, is another Israeli soldier who disappeared without a trace.