Over the past couple of years, I have repeated the story of the death of Moshe Tamam by Walid Daqqa's PFLP cell in 1984.
The narrative that Tamam was castrated and his eyes were gouged out all came from a 2012 blogpost (I won't link) that said:
When the terrorists realized that they could not get him across the border into Syria, they decided to kill him.First they gouged out Moshe’s eyes, and then they mutilated him by cutting off parts of his body starting with his sexual organs. Finally, they shot him in the chest, and dumped his body in an olive grove near Jenin. Moshe’s body, or what was left of it, was found on August 10th. The DFLP immediately claimed responsibility for the heinous murder.
It wasn't the DFLP but the PFLP, which should have been the first indication that this report was not accurate.
This story of Tamams' gruesome torture and mutilation spread, including in a Times of Israel blog last year and other normally reliable sites.
But it does not appear to be true.
People I know contacted the prosecutors in the case, and there is no evidence for either the castration or gouging accusations.
An Israeli government website says that Tamam's body was found with signs of trauma on his head and a bullet hole in his chest, without a word about mutilation.
Israel Hayom described Tamam's murder in 2021:
A year and a half after the attack, the circle was closed, and the four terrorists, residents of Bekah al-Gharbiyya, were captured. In May 1986, an indictment was filed against them that exposed the atrocity. The four, Ibrahim Razak Badasa, Walid Daqqa, Ibrahim Naif Abu Mokh and Rushdi Abu Mokh, all members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, were tasked with kidnapping an Israeli soldier and transporting him to Syria. The four were looking for a soldier, and when they saw Tamam at the Netanya interchange they stopped for him and he got on.While driving, two of the terrorists pulled out the guns they had, tied his hands with a rope and covered his eyes with a rag. They drove him to the squad leader's house and imprisoned him for two days, then they decided to execute him, because they were afraid they would be caught on the way to Syria. They drove near the settlement of Mevo Dotan, took out Tamam and placed him in an olive grove. Ibrahim Razak pulled out his gun and fired a shot at Tamm that grazed his forehead. After the soldier fell to the ground, Ibrahim leaned towards him and fired once more towards his chest. After that, Razak and Naif returned to the car where Rushdi was waiting for them.
Walid Daqqa deserved to die in prison for his role as the leader of the murderous PFLP cell. Amnesty's treating him like a hero is unconscionable. But we on the Zionist side need to be careful that what we say is accurate. The other side will accuse us of being liars no matter what, but our standards must be as high as possible - and higher than most of the mainstream media's.
(h/t Daled Amos)
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