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Nov. 2, 2005
IDF soldier killed during arrest of Islamic Jihad member
Margot Dudkevitch and jpost staff
An IDF soldier was killed in the line of duty Tuesday night while troops from the elite Maglan unit carried out the arrest of a wanted Hamas suspect in Kfar Marka, southwest of Jenin.
After successfully detaining the suspected terrorist, soldiers were exiting a house in the village when they heard noises nearby. The soldiers called out to the intruders to halt, when shots were fired from 15—20 meters away.
A gun battle ensued, and Sgt. Yonatan Evron, 20, of Rishon Lezion, sustained fatal wounds to the head.
Evron was evacuated from the scene by helicopter to Tel Hashomer Medical Center, where he succumbed to his wounds.
Evron was the first soldier killed in the line of duty since Israel’s disengagement from Gaza this summer.
The IDF was searching the area for the perpetrators, who seemed to have escaped.
A Kalashnikov rifle and ammunition clip with blood stains were found in the area, however, most likely belonging to the gunmen. IDF estimates were that the shooter was wounded in the exchange of fire.
Speculating on how the death could have been prevented, Colonel (res.) Shimshon Arbel told Army Radio that the "neighbor technique" outlawed by the High Court of Justice would not have saved Evron’s life.
"Dozens of arrests like these are carried out every night,‘ Arbel noted. ’But there is no doubt that when fugitives are holing up inside houses, the [neighbor] method would work."
Following the Hadera suicide bomb attack and due to the increase of terror threats, the IDF launched a crackdown on fugitives, conducting nightly raids in the West Bank. Since, dozens of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah-affiliated terrorists have been arrested.
In Memoriam
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