Rescue unit 669
Rescue unit 669IDF Spokesperson

The name of the hiker who was killed after falling from a cliff on the edge of Tze’elim Canyon in the Judean Desert was cleared for publication on Friday evening.

The man is Dr. Omri Nir from Kfar Vitkin in the Sharon region.

Dr. Nir fell while trying to save his 11-year-old son, who had fallen from the cliff as well.

The son was seriously injured and was taken to the Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva.

Dr. Nir was a researcher of modern history and the politics of Lebanon, and was an expert on Shiite Islam and Hezbollah. He was a professor at Tel Aviv University, the Hebrew University, the Ben Gurion University and the Achva College.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)