Copyright 1996 The Jerusalem Post
The Jerusalem Post
August 12, 1996
HEADLINE: IDF CONFIRMS REMAINS OF MISSING SOLDIER ARE SA'ADON'S
BYLINE: ARIEH O'SULLIVAN
BODY:
DNA tests have confirmed that the skeleton found buried under a road near Palmahim beach last month is that of missing soldier Ilan Sa'adon, the IDF announced yesterday.
His family was notified last night. Sa'adon will be buried today in Ashkelon.
Chief IDF Chaplain Maj.-Gen. Rabbi Gad Navon officially declared Sa'adon no longer a soldier whose place of burial is unknown. Besides the DNA test, Navon also based his halachic decision on items found at the burial site, the army said.
Members of the IDF's department for locating missing persons found Sa'adon's body after receiving a tip from the Palestinian Authority.
Sa'adon was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas terrorists on May 3, 1989 while hitchhiking to his home in Ashkelon. His kidnappers fled to Sudan and Syria and after many years of futile searches a deal was worked out with the help of PA Chairman Yasser Arafat to obtain information on where the terrorists had dumped his body. Searchers dug to depths of over 8 meters to find his remains.