New Jersey Family Suspects Something 'Hostile' Happened To Son Missing In Israel

The family of a New Jersey student is calling on the U.S. State Department to get involved after their 23-year-old relative went missing outside of Jerusalem, Israel last week.

Aaron Sofer of Lakewood, N.J. reportedly went missing last Friday after going on a hike with a friend in a forest on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Sofer is an Orthodox Jewish student who is currently studying at a Yeshiva, or Jewish university, in Israel.

Shlomo Sofer, a cousin to Aaron, told Fox News that the young man's family fears the worst as there have been recent kidnappings of young Israelis, allegedly by Palestinians.

"What happened here is unknown, but it's pretty clear that he's not in the forest," the 40-year-old cousin told Fox News. "Something is not quite right. We have every reason to assume that something hostile happened. Bottom line: Where is he?"

Sofer is reportedly in good mental and physical health, and out of concern his parents have flown to Israel to search for their son. The family has reportedly been critical of the Israeli government for its slow response to the search, and is now calling on both the Israeli Defense Forces and the U.S. State Department to get involved in Sofer's disappearance.

Dov Hirth, a spokesman for the Sofer family, added to the Jerusalem Post that the family is not satisfied with the search and rescue mission as it has gone so far. Hirth referenced last month's murder of Muhammad Abu Khdeir, a teenage Palestinian who was kidnapped in July by Israeli assailants and found dead in the same forest where Sofer went missing.

"It's well known that a murder took place in that forest, and especially with the ongoing tensions with Palestinians, we feel there should be a military presence and involvement in the search for Aaron," Hirth said.

Khdeir's murder came after three Israeli teens were kidnapped from the West Bank in July while they were hitchhiking home. The teens were found dead in the West Bank, and Israeli leaders have accused the Palestinian Hamas group of kidnapping the boys, although the group denies any involvement and claims the murder was committed by an independent cell of Palestinians.

The deaths of the three teenagers were the beginning of airstrikes between Palestine and Israel that have continued into August.