IDF finds bones near where Halabi's remains found

Additional human bones were found Wednesday morning near the site where IDF soldier Majdi Halabi’s remains were found in September, Israel Police reported.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that IDF search teams combing the area on Wednesday found entire human bones that had gone undetected when a Daliat al-Carmel resident and forestry worker found the missing IDF soldier’s remains nearby in September.

Rosenfeld said that police are working under the assumption that the remains are most likely that of Halabi, and were moved by wind, wildlife or something else before the rest of his remains were found. He added that the bones were in a highly advanced state of decay, just like the remains of Halabi, who had been missing for over seven years when he was found in September.

Still, all possibilities are being examined, Rosenfeld said, including that the remains could be that of a different person.

At the moment the bones undergoing forensic examinations, he added.

Police from the Coastal District are still working to determine what led to Halabi’s death and have not currently ruled out either murder or suicide, Rosenfeld said.

Halabi’s family has dismissed outright the possibility that their son committed suicide, and maintain that his killing was nationally motivated.

Halabi vanished without a trace in May 2005 while traveling from his home to his base in Tirat Carmel, south of Haifa. He was last seen at a bus station in his hometown of Daliat al-Carmel, located on the slopes of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa. In September of this year his remains were found by a childhood friend who was clearing brush in the Carmel Forest, a little over a kilometer from Halabi’s family home.

For years the IDF and police led a search across Israel for Halabi, and also chased down leads in the Arab world. Until news of his death was announced, there was an outstanding $10 million reward for information leading to his whereabouts.