Ron Tzalah
January 14, 2001 - The bullet-ridden body of Ron Tzalah, 32, of Kfar Yam in Gush Katif, apparently killed on Sunday night (Jan 14), was found the following morning near the Kfar Yam hothouses.
Tzalah had gone to check on the hothouses where he grows cherry tomatoes and cucumbers when he was attacked. He was working with his Palestinian employees, who are suspected of involvement in the killing. Two groups have claimed responsibility for the murder, one affiliated with the Fatah and the other with the Hamas.
Ron's father-in-law, Shimon Mor-Yosef, a Gush Katif ambulance driver, alerted officials to his disappearance after calls to his cellphone went unanswered. Tzalah's car, carrying a locating transmitter, was tracked to Khan Yunis, where it was found torched. The IDF assumes that Palestinians who were in the area murdered him and then fled to Khan Yunis in his car. Tzalah's body was discovered in the morning near the Kfar Yam hothouses.
Roni Tzalah lived in Kfar Yam for 10 years, working as a farmer. Oshrit, whom he married four years ago, is in the early months of pregnancy. They have an 18-month-old son, Gal.
He was buried in Gush Katif. After the disengagement from Gaza he was reburied in the Shikun Hamizrach cemetery in Rishon Lezion in September 2005.