Near the Israeli-Arab village of Kfar Kana, just north of Nazareth in the lower Galilee, searchers found the body of Oleg Shchaiat this morning. Thus came to a tragic end a week of an intense investigation into the sudden disappearance of the soldier. The police and Shabak surmise that Oleg, 20, was kidnapped by Arabs who murdered him shortly afterwards. Left mostly unsaid is the suspicion that it was Israeli-Arabs who perpetrated the crime.
Earlier this morning, Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz visited the site of the search. Thousands of people took part in looking for the missing soldier, and the security forces continually asked for more volunteers over the past two days.
Shchaiat, who is survived by his parents and his brother Adam, is the 35th victim of what some have dubbed the Road Map War, beginning after the Aqaba Summit on June 3, 2003.
Northern District Police Chief Yaakov Borovsky said it was Oleg's quick thinking that helped the police find his body. It is assumed that the murderers killed him shortly after abducting him, but Oleg managed to throw off his dog tag and beret - the discovery of which helped lead investigators find the olive-tree orchard in which he was shot and buried.
Oleg Shchaiat joins a list of some 20 soldiers who have been abducted and murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the past two decades. The list includes David Bukara, Avi Sasportas, Hadas Kedmi, Ilan Saadon, Nissim Toledano, Aryeh Frankental, Nachshon Wachsman, and others.
MK Gila Finkelstein (NRP) said that Prime Minister Sharon should cancel the plans to release Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners, as "the difficult circumstances are not appropriate for gestures towards the Palestinians."
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said that the murder was "shocking," that Abu Mazen had not yet made the operative decision to uproot the terrorist infrastructures, and "as long as the terror organizations are not disarmed, the blow-up of the [diplomatic] process is just a matter of time."
MK Ophir Pines (Labor) said that the hopes of all Israel to find Oleg alive were dashed, and that he hopes that the investigation shows that Israeli-Arabs were not involved.
Earlier this morning, Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz visited the site of the search. Thousands of people took part in looking for the missing soldier, and the security forces continually asked for more volunteers over the past two days.
Shchaiat, who is survived by his parents and his brother Adam, is the 35th victim of what some have dubbed the Road Map War, beginning after the Aqaba Summit on June 3, 2003.
Northern District Police Chief Yaakov Borovsky said it was Oleg's quick thinking that helped the police find his body. It is assumed that the murderers killed him shortly after abducting him, but Oleg managed to throw off his dog tag and beret - the discovery of which helped lead investigators find the olive-tree orchard in which he was shot and buried.
Oleg Shchaiat joins a list of some 20 soldiers who have been abducted and murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the past two decades. The list includes David Bukara, Avi Sasportas, Hadas Kedmi, Ilan Saadon, Nissim Toledano, Aryeh Frankental, Nachshon Wachsman, and others.
MK Gila Finkelstein (NRP) said that Prime Minister Sharon should cancel the plans to release Hamas and Islamic Jihad prisoners, as "the difficult circumstances are not appropriate for gestures towards the Palestinians."
Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said that the murder was "shocking," that Abu Mazen had not yet made the operative decision to uproot the terrorist infrastructures, and "as long as the terror organizations are not disarmed, the blow-up of the [diplomatic] process is just a matter of time."
MK Ophir Pines (Labor) said that the hopes of all Israel to find Oleg alive were dashed, and that he hopes that the investigation shows that Israeli-Arabs were not involved.