This morning (Wednesday), the Knesset published an updated report on the disappearance of citizens in Israel, revealing alarming data on hundreds of open missing persons cases, some dating back to the founding years of the state.
The report, prepared by the Knesset's Research and Information Center at the request of the National Security Committee, indicates that around 600 cases of missing civilians, who are not soldiers, remain unsolved. More than 50 of them were minors at the time of their disappearance.
According to the data, most of the cases were opened since the year 2000, due to improved police documentation. However, many cases from earlier periods, including the 1950s and 1960s, remain open to this day.
Of the total cases, about 10% of the missing persons were minors at the time of their disappearance. Seventy-five percent of them are male. Twenty-four percent are non-Jews, a higher percentage than their share of the population. Ten percent of the missing persons are 70 years or older, a group considered to be at high risk.
Among the examples mentioned in the document is the disappearance of the child Hymanut Kassou, whose disappearance was reported about two years ago, but her name does not appear on the designated police website. The document points to gaps in the public reporting policy for missing persons.
According to the report, only a small minority of the thousands of reports received by the police each year result in the opening of an official missing persons case-and in rare cases, the case remains open for many years, sometimes for decades.
Recent high-profile missing child cases include the cases of Moishe Kleinerman and Hymanut Kassaou.