An Israeli security guard is killed in a Palestinian attack at the entrance to a settlement. His fiancée remains unharmed – because he stands protectively in front of her.
A Palestinian terrorist shot and killed a 23-year-old Israeli security guard in Samaria on Friday evening. The attack occurred at the entrance to the Ariel settlement. The attacker and an accomplice initially escaped.
As surveillance camera footage shows, the two Palestinians drove a blue Suzuki with Israeli license plates to the vicinity of the guard post. The passenger opened fire first. Then the driver got out and also fired at the guard post. According to investigators, they fired at least ten bullets. They apparently used improvised submachine guns.
After the attack, the assailants fled in the Suzuki. They later set the vehicle on fire, and Israeli security forces discovered it by the roadside. The father of one of the attackers helped them continue their escape to a hiding place, according to the news site Arutz Sheva. However, they were discovered and arrested on Saturday.
During the search for the terrorists, violent clashes broke out between Palestinians and the army in Asun, near the autonomous city of Qalqilia. One Palestinian was killed. According to the newspaper "Yediot Aharonot," he had thrown a Molotov cocktail at the soldiers.
Murdered man protected his fiancée with his body
The murdered security guard was Vyacheslav Golev. His fiancée, Victoria Fligelman, was on duty with him at the security post. According to the army, he shielded her with his body from the gunfire, saving her life. He also prevented the attackers from entering the settlement. Golev was hit by three bullets.
The terrorists were tracked down in Qarawat Bani Hassan. They are 19-year-old Vahja Mar'i and 20-year-old Jussef A'asi.
Fatah Group assumes responsibility
According to a report in the online newspaper "Times of Israel," the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack: "We take responsibility for the heroic operation in Ariel that resulted in the death of a Zionist officer. All this activity is a response to Israeli aggression in Jerusalem," a masked man said in a video on behalf of the Fatah subgroup. The video was shared on social media. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades had already claimed responsibility for the attack in Bnei Brak at the end of March.
Hamas also described it as a "heroic operation." The terrorist group stated that it was a "natural response to the crimes of the occupation and its settlers" and that it would not be the last attack.
Bennett: Every terrorist will be brought to justice
On Sunday afternoon, hundreds of mourners gathered in his hometown of Beit Shemesh, between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, to bid farewell to Vyacheslav Golev. Mayor Alisa Bloch (Ir Me'uchedet) said at the funeral that he was "our hero.".
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett (Yamina) offered his condolences to the bereaved. He wrote: “There is no terrorist we will not reach and bring to justice. Our war on terror is long. Together we will win.”
