Kidnapping of Israeli man in Ethiopia was faked - report

The Israeli man who was kidnapped in Ethiopia had staged the incident, according to a report by Kan on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry found that this wasn't a case of an Israeli in danger and has stopped working on the case, according to the report. 

The man was reported kidnapped earlier this week after his family received voice messages telling them he was in trouble and a photo of him with his arms tied behind his back. The Foreign Ministry had been working on the case with Interpol.

Man's family still thinks something is wrong

The man's kids told Walla that they were still worried about their father.

"We've been trying since this morning to contact the Foreign Ministry, and they're not answering us," his son said. "We know that in the Gondar news this morning, they said that the police claimed there isn't a kidnapped man in Ethiopia, and maybe in Israel they concluded the same based on it. But we also know that in Ethiopia, like in Israel sometimes, a case isn't opened if there isn't an official complaint."

The man's nephew told Walla that his father and uncles will soon file a complaint to Israel.

He added that on Wednesday, the family had received a ransom demand for NIS 2.5 million but that the Ethiopian police had recommended that they not pay it.

"We're very worried and think that Israel has to do something to bring him back to the country," he said. "We have no indication that someone staged the kidnapping and definitely not him. He's 79, married with eight children. We're waiting for the Foreign Ministry to tell us what to do."