Rabbi Moshe Talbi
Rabbi Moshe TalbiCourtesy of the family

Gershon Mesika, Head of the Samaria regional authority, demands that the State Attorney's Office reopen the investigation into the death of Rabbi Moshe Talbi, whose body was found near the entrance to the community of Revava on March 23, 2011.

The demand follows an investigative report by Maariv / Makor Rishon's Yifat Erlich, which points to the likelihood that the rabbi was murdered.

Authorities insisted, from an early stage, that Rabbi Talbi committed suicide, even though he had no record of suicidal tendencies and no known motive, and despite evidence to the contrary at the crime scene.

Erlich revealed that additional blood stains besides Rabbi Talbi's were found next to his vehicle, and that the DNA of an additional person was found on his handgun. In addition, blood spatter patterns appear to rule out a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

"We demanded a repeat investigation immediately after the murder," Mesika said Saturday night. "I think that, as the signs multiply, a return investigation must be established and carried out by a neutral element, to find out what exactly happened." Mesika noted that a terrorist cell that murdered Talbi may still be roaming free.

Erlich's report points to the possibility that the rabbi was attacked by a person who may have been riding in his car, and who wrestled his gun away from him and shot him dead.