Murder of Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon
| Kidnapping and murder of Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon | |
|---|---|
| Location | Southern District |
| Date | February 16, 1989 |
| Deaths | Israeli soldiers Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon |
| Perpetrators | Hamas militant squad |
The murders of Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon refers to two separate abductions undertaken by Hamas which took place respectively on February 16 and May 3, 1989 and the subsequent murders of the two men. The two Israeli soldiers were Avi Sasportas and Ilan Saadon.
The two became the first victims of the newly founded Palestinian militant organization founded by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Ilan Saadon's body was only found in 1996.
In December 1987, with the beginning of the first intifada, Hamas was founded by Muslim Brotherhood members and was headed by Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Mohammad Taha. Hamas sent out feelers, via talks with Simon Peres, in early 1988 offering an acknowledgement of Israel in exchange for a return to the 1967 borders, but soon discarded negotiations in favour of armed resistance, in order to clearly demarcate the difference between its position and that of Palestinian nationalists. Since the leaders of Majd (Hamas's internal security service), Salah Shehade and Yahya Sinwar, were detained in prison, Hamas set up a new structure, called Unit 101, headed by Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, whose function was to kidnap Israeli soldiers.
Unit 101's operations were headed by Mohammed Youssef al-Sharatha. The other squad members were Abed Rabo Abu Jose, co-founder of Hamas' military wing, Muhammad Nazim Nasser.
Sergeant Avi Sasportas was born and raised in the city of Ashdod, where he lived until his murder. In his youth he volunteered in the BBYO youth movement and in the Civil Guard. In November 1986, Sasportas joined the IDF and was assigned to the Israeli Special Forces unit Maglan.
On February 16, 1989, Sasportas got in a vehicle carrying two Hamas militants disguised as Israeli Jewish ultra-orthodox men, who killed him shortly thereafter. On May 7, 1989, Avi Sasportas' body was found buried in a field near the site at which he had been abducted, during search operations for Ilan Saadoun. He was buried soon thereafter in a military cemetery in Ashdod.
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