The body of 50-year-old Oded Laniado, a Jewish truck driver, was found Monday between the villages of Shukba and Kibia, not far from Kiryat Sefer, in the Binyamin district of Samaria. Laniado, married and the father of four daughters, was found near his truck with the engine still running.
According to police reports, the Sha'arei Tikva resident was called by a scrap iron depot in the Palestinian Authority village of Shukba and was found by another truck driver who was heading the same way. The second driver, an Arab, alerted security forces.
When IDF and Binyamin police forces arrived on the scene, they found the victim lying unconscious and despite the efforts, medics were unable to resuscitate the man.
Original reports said Laniado had apparently been stabbed, but later police reports said the truck driver might have been struck and killed by a truck cable that came loose and struck him in the throat while he was tightening it. Media reports describing the type and location of the wounds have varied, and police have not ruled out the possibility that Laniado was murdered.
The incident came just as Binyamin Region Commander Colonel Amir Abulafia issued a warning to the Jewish community in his jurisdiction that Arab terrorists are currently increasing efforts to kidnap Israelis. Terrorists are extremely motivated to kidnap Jews to use as bargaining chips to gain the release of Arabs imprisoned in Israel.
Potential kidnappers, the IDF colonel noted, would just as easily negotiate with Israel while holding live captives as they would holding dead bodies.
Col. Abulafia expressed concern that there is little awareness of the severity of recent kidnapping alerts. Saying that Jewish hitchhikers are easy targets for terrorists, he encouraged travelers to take public transportation more often or to hitchhike from within Jewish towns. Abulafia strongly discouraged the practice of hitchhikers who wait for rides at major intersections in Judea and Samaria, where Arab-owned cars travel freely.
In particular, the colonel expressed concern for the Binyamin Region youth, who often hitchhike alone at all hours of the day and night. Abulafia said that the IDF prepared a short film to alert the public to the dangers of hitchhiking. He expressed his hope that parents and educators will encourage young people to watch the film and take more precautions against terrorist kidnappers.
To drive his point home, Col. Abulafia reminded the public of several recent unsuccessful kidnapping attempts.
In a case that recently came before the military court, three terrorists were charged with attempting to kidnap two Jewish girls who had been hitchhiking not far from Jerusalem. The incident occurred on June 15 of last year, when two 9th-grade girls were standing at the Rechelim junction on Highway 60, waiting for a ride from Jewish passersby southwards towards Jerusalem. Suddenly two armed Arabs got out of a passing car and tried to abduct the two girls.
One of the girls was able to escape, watching helplessly as the Arabs tried to force her friend into their car. At that moment, an IDF officer happened along and the kidnappers left the girl and fled. The officer radioed local forces to erect checkpoints along the road. Shortly afterwards, a white Chevrolet with the three Arabs was stopped near Shilo and they were arrested without further incident.
It was later found that the terrorists had already dug a grave for their intended victims.