Fears the 'Israeli Madeleine McCann' has been killed by her own mother and grandfather

Israeli police fear a 4-year-old French girl who disappeared three months ago has been murdered by her grandfather and her own mother.

In a sick twist, police said they believed Rose Ron died at the hands of her grandfather, Roni Ron and his daughter in-law lover, Marie Pisam who is the girl's mother.

The partial lifting of a court-imposed gag order surrounding the case uncovered a shocking tale of child abuse and death spanning three generations.

At its heart lies the bizarre love triangle in which little Rose's grandfather fell in love with his son's young bride and fathered two more daughters with her.

Police say the grandfather has admitted killing the child and dumping her in a river, but no body has been found and there is no forensic evidence proving her death.

Ilan Ben-Shalom, head of the police team investigating Rose's disappearance said  her mother, Marie, was arrested two weeks ago with her ex-husband's father Ron, following a tip-off.

Ron's own mother called police after revealing she had not seen the child for several months.

Ron's lawyer, Revital Swid, said her client admitted hitting Rose in a burst of anger but didn't mean to hurt her.

'He was under pressure, panicked, was very worried about his partner's likely reaction, and as a result took action to conceal (the body),' she said.

The case has absorbed the Israeli media since police on launched a public appeal for information on Rose's whereabouts, but any mention of a murder investigation was barred by the court order until yesterday.

Once the floodgates opened, a picture began to emerge of a tragic child from a deeply dysfunctional family.

Police say Marie Pisam and her father-in-law Roni Ron killed the four-year-old

Police investigators said Rose's father Benjamin was the illegitimate offspring of a brief relationship between Roni Ron and a French tourist, and the boy grew up in France without knowing his own father.

Benjamin met Marie in France, and after Rose's birth the teenagers got married and visited Israel to explore Benjamin's roots.

But after meeting Ron, Marie fell in love with him and stayed on in Israel after Benjamin and Rose returned to France.

A child custody battle ensued, amid suspicions of abuse of Rose by her father.

A French court awarded custody to Marie and she came back to Israel with the child, where she set up a home with Ron and gave birth to two more daughters, now one and two years old.

The two girls are now in the care of welfare services.

Both Ron and Pisam deny having anything to do with Rose's death or disappearance.