Police in Beit Lehem Haglalit found the body of a woman who went missing last
week, lying in a field with signs of violence on her body.
The woman,
38-year-old Maria Zubidat of Bismat Tivon, is the mother of a two-year-old girl
who was found six days ago alone in a drainage ditch next to a highway outside
the village of Ibtin in the north. The girl was found by passersby, who called
police.
Over the past six days police held wide-scale searches for
Zubidat across the Galilee, with fears that her life was in danger when she did
not arrive at the Rambam Hospital to pick up her daughter.
On Thursday, a
sweeping gag order was placed on the case, limiting the publication of further
details at least until Sunday.