Sunday, September 22, 2013

22-Sep-13: UPDATED Sniper attack in Hebron this evening

Heavy security at the Tomb of the Patriarchs: part of the price
of making it accessible to Jews and Moslems [Image Source]
Times of Israel is reporting that an IDF soldier was shot by a Palestinian Arab sniper and seriously wounded outside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron this evening. The wounded man is said to be in critical condition after being shot in the neck by a single bullet. He is now undergoing emergency treatment the Shaarei Zedek Medical Center hospital in Jerusalem.

UPDATE 10:00 pm Sunday: Haaretz says the soldier succumbed to his wounds, and died. Israel National News says he is 20 year old Gabriel (Gal) Kobi of Tirat Hacarmel. The shooter is still on the run.

The report quotes Palestinian sources saying violent clashes erupted after the attack between IDF soldiers and local Palestinian Arabs.

The Tomb of the Patriarchs is holy to Jews and Moslems, and a very popular destination for Israelis during the Sukkot (Tabernacles) festival that is currently underway. It is the world's most ancient Jewish site and the second holiest place for the Jewish people, after Temple Mount in Jerusalem. [Additional background.]

Another IDF soldier, Tomer Hazan, was murdered yesterday by a Palestinian Arab who confessed to kidnapping and killing the unarmed man. The killer's father is in the news tonight, reportedly saying he would kill his son if he could.
“If the military would today give me an M-16 [assault rifle], I would go and shoot my son in the head,” Abdullah Amar told Times of Israel... [S]haken and distraught, [he] made it clear that he did not support his son’s actions. “I and all my family, from the youngest to the eldest, condemn the murder of a man who came here without a weapon,” he said Sunday... 

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