Did Arafat hide NIS 50 milion inside an Israeli nature reserve?
Photo: Israel's Channel 1
Suspect arrested for digging for "Arafat Treasure" in Mount Meron
Photo: Zvi Gilat
Raider of the lost Arafat Ark
Israeli Arab arrested for digging in nature reserve in northern Israel, claiming late Palestinian leader had hidden a "treasure" worth NIS 50 million underneath; Arafat had no immediate comment
Police arrested an Israeli Arab on Wednesday who was found hording pipe bombs in a nature reserve site in northern Israel, saying he was looking for “treasure” he said late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had hidden inside.
An Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority inspector, Liad Link, said he and his friends found the man after receiving information that digging was being done in the Mount Meron area. He found a makeshift shelter near the site, where the suspect had been lodging along with a boy.
“The two had established an outpost and dealt with carpentry,” he said. “They had slingshots for hunting birds and work tools. After extensive searches, we found pipe bombs, ready to be activated.”
Officials probed the man further on allegations of harming the nature reserve and engaging in illegal hunting before passing him on to Karmiel police authorities.
He told investigators that a “treasure” worth NIS 50 million that belonged to Arafat had been buried under the site. He did not say whether the late Palestinian leader had stored the alleged cache there on his own or had sent others to do it for him.
Further investigations revealed that the man had conducted similar digs before, but without using explosives.
