More than four decades after the kidnapping and murder of IDF soldier Moshe Tamam Hy”d, the State of Israel has filed a civil lawsuit seeking nearly NIS 2 million from the terrorists responsible for the brutal killing.

The lawsuit, filed in the Haifa Magistrate’s Court by the State Attorney’s Office on behalf of the Defense Ministry, seeks reimbursement for benefits and compensation paid by the state to Tamam’s bereaved parents under the Fallen Soldiers’ Families Law.

The defendants are four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) who were convicted in connection with the 1984 abduction and murder: Ibrahim Abd al-Razak Bayadsa, Ibrahim Nayef Abu Mukh, Saleh (formerly Rushdi) Abu Mukh, and the estate of Walid Daqqa, the ringleader of the terror cell, who died in prison in 2024.

According to the lawsuit, the terrorists kidnapped Tamam while he was hitchhiking near Netanya in August 1984. They bound and blindfolded him, held him captive for several days, and ultimately murdered him in an olive grove near Mevo Dotan before abandoning his body.

All four were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987.

The state argues that those responsible for the kidnapping and murder should bear the financial consequences of their actions rather than the Israeli public. In addition to recovering benefits already paid to Tamam’s parents, the lawsuit seeks compensation for future payments the state is expected to make.

The filing describes the murder as a grave violation of the sanctity of life and notes the added severity of the crime given its nationalist motive and the fact that the perpetrators were Israeli citizens.

Quoting the original sentencing decision, the lawsuit states: “Before us is a horrifying murder committed by citizens of the state who were born and raised in it. It was a cold-blooded killing carried out with planning and premeditation, motivated solely by the fact that the victim was an IDF soldier.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)