Body of Israeli Farmer Found; 18 Arabs Held

The bludgeoned body of an Israeli farmer was found in his vineyard today, and police rounded up 18 Arab suspects, saying the killing appeared to have been motivated by the Palestinian rebellion against Israel.

The 33-year-old farmer was bludgeoned to death at a collective farm near the occupied West Bank, a police spokesman said.

Dozens of officers who rushed to the scene after the body was found sealed off the entrances to several neighboring Arab villages, said Etti Elinsky, a spokeswoman at the collective farm.

The farmer’s slaying would be the fourth death of an Israeli since the uprising began Dec. 8. At least 210 Palestinians have died in the rebellion, most by Israeli gunfire, according to U.N. figures.

Elinsky said the victim, Eli Cohen, was found at the collective farm lying near his grapevines with a hole in his head apparently caused by a beating with a heavy steel object.

Borders 3 Arab Villages

The farm is about 25 miles south of Jerusalem and borders three Arab villages near the West Bank city of Hebron.

Police spokesman Rafi Levy said police suspect that an Arab was responsible for the killing but declined to comment further.

Elinsky said Cohen never returned home after leaving to spray his grapevines with insecticide Sunday evening. She said he was found this morning by another farmer.

She said Arabs are also suspected of committing several acts of vandalism on the farm in the last four months. In one incident, farmers found a black, green, red and white Palestinian flag in a field strewn with uprooted vegetables, Elinsky said.

On Saturday, 160 grapevines were destroyed by fire, apparently by arsonists, she added.

Israelis have accused Palestinian arsonists of a rash of fires that have destroyed tens of thousands of acres in the last few weeks.