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April 25, 2004
Yaniv Mashiach is Israel’s 21,782nd war-fatality
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Corporal Yaniv Mashiach, 20, from Jaffa, became Israel’s 21,782nd war-victim Sunday night when his Border Police jeep was ambushed by Palestinians in the southern Hebron Hills.
Mashiach joined the Border Police at December 2002 and following a basic training course was station in Judea and Samaria. He is the Border Police’s 417 fatality in Israel’s ongoing war with its neighbors.
Yaniv Mashiach’s parents and four siblings will join other bereaved families on Remembrance Day 2004, Monday. His funeral will take place at 4 p. m. in the Holon military cemetery.
Minutes after sirens marked the commencement of Remembrance Day and the nation began to mourn its fallen, Mashiach was killed and two other Border Policemen were wounded, when shots were fired at their jeep near Idna in the southern Hebron Hills.
An hour later, an Israeli Arab security guard was seriously wounded when terrorists shot at three guards patrolling near the shooting range at Migdal Oz near Efrat in Gush Etzion.
Yaniv Mashiach, who suffered three gunshot wounds, one to the head, died en route to Hadassah-University Hospital in Ein Kerem, Jerusalem.
The two others, wounded by bullet fragments, were taken to Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon.
The Al Aksa Martyr’s brigade — the Fatah’s military wing — claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was executed by the "Shahid Abdul Aziz Rantisi" cell in retaliation for the killing of the Hamas leader, reported Israel Radio Monday morning.
Preliminary investigations reveal that at least two other perpetrators fled to Idna, commandeering the car of an Israeli Arab who they threatened, and from there to an undisclosed location.
The third Palestinian, who was wounded by IDF gunfire, escaped and is being actively sought after.
Judea and Samaria police said they were seeking to determine whether the terrorists entered on foot or reached the site in a car. Residents in the nearby communities were placed on alert.
The Border Policemen were setting up a roadblock when shots were fired from the side of the road. The driver assisted the wounded back into the jeep, drove to the nearby Tarkumiya roadblock, and alerted security forces.
Security forces, searching the scene of the ambush, found empty bullet casings and began searching Idna, which was placed under curfew.
Territories under general closure
Security forces will maintain a high state of alert throughout Remembrance Day and Independence Day due to attack warnings. The general closure imposed on Judea, Samaria, and the Gaza Strip will also remain in effect until further notice.
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon praised the entire defense establishment, Israel Police, Border Police, IDF, and Shin Bet, noting that 13 members of Hamas and Fatah Tanzim have recently been killed, including several who were planning an Independence Day attack. Speaking at the cabinet meeting, he asked Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz to convey his thanks to all the security forces.
"Since the beginning of the year, security forces have thwarted 55 terrorist attacks in the Central Command district — 40 were to have been inside Israel," said OC Central Command Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky at a ceremony Sunday morning at the Judea and Samaria police headquarters, at which Cmdr. Shahar Ayalon promoted several police officers.
"Without a doubt, Independence Day is a symbol for the terrorist organizations, and while there has not been an increase in alerts in recent days, there are a number of concrete attempts and specific warnings we know about," he added.
Over the next two days, thousands of police, Border Police, soldiers, and volunteers will be deployed throughout the country, guarding the throngs attending memorial ceremonies and later at places of entertainment and along the highways.
On Sunday, five fugitives and terrorist suspects were arrested in raids in Kafin, west of Jenin, Hirbat a-Matsaba, west of Ramallah, and Bani Naim, east of Hebron.
In the early morning Sunday, a rocket hit in the yard of a settlement in the northern Gaza Strip. Two people were treated for shock, and two houses were damaged. IDF officers said it was unclear whether the explosion was caused by an anti-tank rocket or a Kassam.
In Sunday afternoon, shots were fired at an IDF post near Kfar Darom. No one was wounded in the shooting and no damage was done.
In Memoriam
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