The Israeli army and the police have opened an investigation into the disappearance of Josef Samir, 63, an Israeli-Arab employee of the Israel Broadcasting Authority. Members of Josef's family believe that he has been arrested by Palestinian security forces, Israel Radio reported Monday.
It quoted family members as saying Samir, father of popular singer Haya Zamir and a resident of an area near the Tunnel Road south of Jerusalem, left last week to shop in Palestinian-controlled Bethelehem and has not been heard from since.
His wife told the radio that her husband suffers from heart problems and she is worried about his health. She said that “he did for the Palestinian state more than many other Palestinians including the policemen who arrested him.”
She said she doesn't know why he was arrested, “maybe because of a critical book he is writing.”
The arrest of Samir, an Egyptian who left to Israel in 1968, was confirmed by the PA, according to Haaretz.
Palestinian sources said that Samir had been arrested by members of Force 17, President Yasser Arafat's presidential guard unit. They said that when Force 17 members spotted Samir filming houses that had been damaged by Israeli fire, they arrested him on suspicion of being an Israeli agent – Albawaba.com
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