Israeli teen killed trying to meet Arab online love

In this story: Israel vows to punish killers Palestinians condemn killing RELATED STORIES, SITES

JERUSALEM -- A 16-year-old Israeli boy's trip to visit his online Palestinian love ended tragically when his body was found riddled with bullets Thursday, Israeli security sources said.

Ophir Rakhum, from the coastal town of Ashkelon, left his house Tuesday. He took along a substantial sum of money and traveled to the West Bank town of Ramallah, where he was killed Wednesday, Israeli reports said.

Israel Radio said Israeli soldiers found Rakhum's body near Ramallah Wednesday and transferred it to Palestinians, believing it was an Arab youth.

The army confirmed the killing, but declined to release any details. A Palestinian security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the boy was shot several times.

VIDEO CNN's Mike Hanna reports on the Israeli youth's death (January 19) Play video (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

The body was transferred to Israel on Thursday evening.

Israel vows to punish killers

Israeli reports described the youth as a bright, quiet pupil and a "computer freak" who had been exchanging e-mail messages with somebody he believed to be a Palestinian woman.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak said in a statement that security forces would find and punish the murderers. The Palestinian Authority condemned the killing.

Barak called the murder "despicable" and "cold-blooded."

Israeli security sources said the Israeli teen-ager and the Palestinian met on the Internet and the relationship blossomed into an online love affair.

They arranged to meet and he was told to bring an amount of money that was apparently stolen after he was killed.

An investigation was under way, the sources said. The actual identity of the Palestinian was not clear.

However, Israel army radio suggested he was deliberately lured to Ramallah, but there also were reports that Rakhum was seen in the company of an Arab woman prior to being killed by masked attackers.

Palestinians condemn killing

The Palestinian Authority said in a statement that it condemned attacks against civilians in spite of the continuing Israeli-Palestinian violence.

A senior Palestinian official condemned the killing and said, "The Palestinian people, despite the victims and the martyrs who were killed by the Israeli terrorism and violence, reject any harm to civilians."

Barak's hawkish opponent in the race for the February 6 elections, Ariel Sharon, said the "tragic and horrible" event only proved that "negotiations conducted under the threat of terrorism weaken Israel."

Earlier in the week, Barak had stopped negotiations for a day in response to the fatal shooting of a Jewish settler by Palestinians.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

See related sites about Middle East

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.