JERUSALEM - The Internet has been a haven for Israelis seeking an escape from the harsh realities of almost four months of violence with the Palestinians.
Not anymore.
The killing of a 16-year-old Israeli, apparently lured to his death near a Palestinian city by a mystery woman he met on-line, made cyberspace a scary place recently.
Details of Ofir Rahum's death were sketchy, but friends told reporters he left his home in southern Israel last Wednesday for a rendezvous in Jerusalem with a woman whom he believed was an English-speaking tourist after "chatting" with her on the Web.
A long trail of blood stains marked the spot outside the West Bank city of Ramallah, north of Jerusalem, where the teen's bullet-riddled body was found the next day.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for his death and police went through Rahum's computer on Friday searching for clues. It was not immediately clear whether the online love affair was genuine or the boy was duped.
"Death trap on the Internet," was how a headline in the mass circulation Maariv daily summed up the tale.
Friends said the high school student had bragged about his Internet relationship with an "older woman" in her twenties.
"He told us she was from Jerusalem, apparently an English-speaking tourist. They spoke on-line and on the phone," said Shlomi Abargil, one of the friends.
"She simply led him astray," he said, adding that the two first met face-to-face a month ago in Jerusalem. "She was 20-plus and he was only 16 and a half. I think that is what attracted him."
Israeli newspaper accounts spoke of the woman driving Rahum to Ramallah, where they were met by another car carrying gunmen who shot him. Israeli security sources said Rahum had been told to bring money, which was apparently stolen after he was killed.
"Keep your children away from the Internet, because the Internet kills," his family said in a public message.
Rahum's death quickly became the talk of Israeli Internet chat rooms, where visitors left messages saying they were stunned and saddened by the killing.
A photograph of the teen, and the message, "In memory of Ofir Rahum, a member of this forum," appeared on the welcome page of the chat room he frequented at Israel's Rotternet portal.
"New members, click here," read the sign-up link below.
Meanwhile, Rahum's own Hebrew-language Web site of music and wrestling links - lived on.
Last updated on the day before he died, the web page's greeting was thick with tragic irony.
"Welcome to Ofir Rahum's site and thanks for surfing here. Don't forget one important thing: the site is updated daily. Tell your friends. I hope you have fun and come back soon. Bye."
- REUTERS
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Claims Israeli boy lured to his death over internet
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