Guy Hever's mother 'certain he is in Syria'

Ten years after her son, IDF soldier Guy Hever, disappearance from the Golan Heights, Rina Hever refuses to give up and still believes her son is alive.

Guy Hever went missing on August 17, 1997 and was last seen and heard from at his base in the Golan Heights at 9:30 am. Many efforts have been made to find Guy since his disappearance, and his family and military sources met with defense and diplomatic bodies in Israel and abroad, including the Red Cross and the United Nations, to no avail.

"We will not allow ourselves to give up and we will continue in our struggle, but we are not so young anymore," Hever's mother said in her living room surrounded by his pictures.

"I fear that we won't have enough energy to continue the fight. I'm calling out to the prime minister: Why are you silent about Guy? Why won't you bring us any information?"

In February 2007, Ynet reported that the Resistance Committees for the Liberation of the Golan Heights, a Syrian guerilla organization established about one year ago, announced that it was holding the Israeli soldier.

Rina believes that her son is being held across the border. "Ten Palestinian organizations operate from Syria, and I believe that he is being held by one of them under Syria's protection. They are waiting for the right time to release information on him in return for their demands. Today there are hardly any Syrian prisoners in Israel that Damascus wants freed, so they have all the time in the world."

Hever's mother also expressed displeasure with the Prime Minister's Office, saying that while families of captive soldiers Gilad Shalit, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were receiving financial aid from the state to go and plead their case abroad, she was being ignored.

Rina said she wrote to the prime minister in this matter, and was told in response that in order to be reimbursed from her flights abroad she would have to turn to a special committee.

"In other words, we will have to beg him (Prime Minister Ehud Olmert) to be able to meet with people abroad. Guy's blood is like anyone else's blood. We will not give up and we will go wherever we have to and will not be subject to the mercy of others," Rina said.

Rina Hever next to her son's photos (Photo: Raanan Ben-Zur)

Rina and her family continue to work toward locating their son, but Rina is convinced that "The solution is in the prime minister's hands and no one else's. Before Ariel Sharon fell ill we met with him and he promised to help us. Many people think he was kidnapped, but Olmert is comfortable remaining silent and doing nothing."

The Israel Defense Forces reported that since Hever's disappearance, seven inquiry teams were appointed by the division for locate missing people. Several scans of the base where he was last seen have been carried out, and testimonies have been collected from soldiers and civilians who knew him or claimed to have seen him.

It was also reported that "As part of its efforts, the IDF is in constant contact with military bodies around the world in order to get as much information possible on the fate of the missing soldier.

"We point out that the military has a moral and ethical obligation to Guy Hever, and despite the many years that have gone by, the various different efforts will continue to be made in order to try and locate him."

IDF: Any new information is looked into

Military sources admitted that even today, a decade after his disappearance, there was no threat of evidence that could shed light on the matter.

"We have collected a significant amount of materials, testimonies and pieces of information, but in such a sensitive subject, nothing can be determined for certain and therefore any new information received, even if it looks baseless, is examined and looked into.

"Despite the long time that has passed, we are convinced that bits of information to arrive in the future may pour light on the case and we are all hope that it will end in the best possible way."

The Born to Freedom Foundation has offered a $10 million reward for anyone submitting any information on Hever and other MIA soldiers Ron Arad, Zvi Feldman, Yehuda Katz, and Majdy Halabi.

The Prime Minster's Office responded by saying, "The prime minister is aware of the soldier Guy Hever's disappearance and is updated on the matter whenever there are any developments. Unfortunately, there is no new information on the matter that can shed light on his disappearance.

"The prime minister met with Mrs Hever a few months ago in his office. Vered Sweid – the prime minister’s advisor for welfare, is in constant contact with Rina Hever, and even accompanies her on various meeting that may advance her interest."

Regarding requests for funding for trips abroad, the Prime Minister's Office said, "There is a committee which all the captives' families submit their requests to, and the committee examines them.

"The committee's members have told Rina Hever that she is invited to file her requests exactly the same way, and that they would be examined by the committee's team, as every request is.

"Furthermore, it should be noted that the prime minister continues to bring up Guy Hever's disappearance in various relevant forums."

Hanan Greenberg Contributed to this report