Tahio, left, and Komemi, right
Posted on 09/23/2004 7:59:05 AM PDT by Cinnamon Girl
Tahio, left, and Komemi, right
Two Border Policemen killed Wednesday while barring the path of a female suicide bomber, an action which police officials said may have saved dozens of lives, are to be laid to rest on Thursday.
Thirty Israelis were wounded in the Wednesday afternoon attack, when the bomber detonated her explosives near the French Hill junction hitchhiking post in northern Jerusalem.
The funeral for Border Policemen Yonatan (Mamoya) Tahio, 20, of Rehovot, was held at the military cemetery in Rehovot on Thursday.
The funeral for Menashe (Meni) Komemi, 19, of Moshav Aminadav, was held on Thursday afternoon at the police cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem.
Early Thursday morning, Israel Defense Forces troops destroyed the house of bomber Zayneb Abu Salem, 18, in the Askar refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus.
By Wednesday night, five of the wounded remained in hospital, one in moderate-to-light condition and the rest with light injuries. Jerusalem police chief Ilan Franco said the Border Police had prevented a more serious outcome.
Police at the scene Wednesday said they had no doubt the suicide bomber intended to reach the the hitchhiking post and bus stops where about 30 people were waiting for rides.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the military wing of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat's Fatah faction, claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was in revenge for the assassination of its leaders in Nablus and Jenin.
The bomber arrived at the junction from the direction of Jerusalem, wearing a brown veil and holding a bag containing the shrapnel-packed explosive device weighing between three and five kilograms.
After the bombing, IDF troops entered the Nablus area and imposed a full closure on the city, Palestinian sources said. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday vowed to strike Palestinian militants with "all force."
The Palestinian cabinet condemned the bombing, saying it gives Israel an excuse to continue its policies. Arafat's spokesman, Nabi Abu Rudeineh, released a statement accusing the Israeli government of responsibility for the attack.
As a result of previous bombings in the same area, the hitchhiking post is under constant guard. The area is fenced in, and passengers can enter the compound only after a security check by Border Police officers. Tahio and Komemi were stationed at a separate guard post nearby.
Eyewitnesses said the bomber tried to pass the officers on her way to the hitchhiking post, but one of the officers, apparently Tahio, tried to search her belongings. The two began arguing, and the second officer came out of the guard post. The bomber then detonated the explosives.
Tahio, who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia in 1991 with his parents and six brothers, was killed instantly. "He was very brave," said a friend of his and fellow officer. "I don't know a lot of other people who would be ready to sacrifice themselves to save others."
Komemi was brought to the hospital in critical condition, where he died an hour later. He is survived by his parents and seven siblings.
"I live in French Hill and when I heard the loud boom, I understood that a terror attack had taken place," said Haim Weingarten, a Zaka search and rescue service volunteer who was among the first to arrive at the scene. "At the hitchhiking post there were dozens of people, and it was clear that a larger disaster had been averted."
A woman standing across the street from the attack said she saw the woman arguing with the officers, and then "there was a large flame and I saw the woman fly like a doll."
Police, aided by a helicopter, searched the area for the driver who probably dropped the bomber off at the scene and searched for any additional explosives.
Jerusalem police said Wednesday the alert level in the city had been raised, but there had been no specific warning of the infiltration of a bomber into the capital.
This photo will not appear in the mainstream press: they cannot show a black person giving up his life to the "apartheid state of Israel."
The sister, left, and mother, no names available, of Israeli border police Cpl. Menashe Komemi are comforted as they attend the funeral at Mount Hertzl military cemetery in Jerusalem Thursday Sept. 23, 2004. Komemi was one of two border police officers killed Wednesday when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew herself up as they were trying to check her bags near a bus stop in Jerusalem. Three Israeli soldiers were also killed Thursday during an attack by Palestinian militants on a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites).(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
Friend of Israel Lotati weeps over his coffin during his funeral at the Jewish Gaza Strip (news - web sites) settlement of Newe Dkalim September 23, 2004. Three Palestinian gunmen breached defences around an Israeli settlement in Gaza and killed three soldiers, including Lotati, before being shot dead on Thursday, exacting the worst toll on Israel's forces in occupied territory in four months. REUTERS/Nir Elias
Eliyau Lutati, second left, father of Israeli army 1st. Sgt. Yisrael Lutati reacts during his son's funeral in the Jewish settlement of Neve Dekalim in the central Gaza Strip (news - web sites), Thursday Sept. 23, 2004. Lutati, 20, was killed earlier in the morning when three Palestinian gunmen infiltrated a fog-shrouded Israeli army post at dawn Thursday, killing three Israeli soldiers in a fierce gun battle. (AP Photo / Ariel Schalit)
An Israeli soldier is comforted as he kneels beside the grave of fellow soldier Sgt. Nir Sami, 21,during the funeral at Mount Hertzl military cemetery in Jerusalem,Thursday Sept. 23, 2004. Sami was one of three Israeli soldiers who were killed Thursday during an attack by Palestinian militants on a Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites).(AP Photo/Kevin Frayer)
Unidentified relatives of Israeli border police Cpl. Mamoya Tahio, one holding a framed photo of him, grieve during his funeral in a cemetery in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv, Thursday Sept. 23, 2004. Tahio was one of two border officers killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber blew herself up as they were trying to check her bags near a bus stop in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
An unidentified woman grieves during the funeral of Israeli border police Cpl. Mamoya Tahio in a cemetery in Rehovot, south of Tel Aviv, Thursday Sept. 23, 2004. Tehio was one of two border officers killed Wednesday when a suicide bomber blew herself up as they were trying to check her bags near a bus stop in Jerusalem. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
The family of Yonatan Tahio who was killed in a Palestinian suicide bombing in Jerusalem mourn during his funeral in the central Israeli town of Rehovot September 23, 2004. Yonatan Tahio was killed while blocking the path of a female suicide bomber, an action which police officials said may have saved dozens of lives. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
In a pre-recorded video, three Palestinians in uniform, holding assault rifles, read a statement claiming responsibility for September 23, 2004 morning attack in Gaza in which three Israeli soldiers were killed and the gunmen themselves were shot dead. REUTERS/REUTERS TV
(When I first saw the title of this thread, my first thought was at the U.S. - Mexico border!
These are the sort of men every nation needs and who should be respected by all.
May God give them rest.
These guys are real heroes.
Their families look like great people who are suffering profoundly. Vengeance is in order. In the absence of peace with Muhammadan savages, vengeance is the next best policy.
Prayers to the two IDF Heroes.
They will have to close all the trampiadot (hitchhiking stations).
There should be volunteer "tender" (van) drivers and "monit" (taxi) operators to transport these soldiers. And they (the soldiers) should be distributed tender tickets in advance. No tickee, no ridee.
FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel ping list.
WARNING: This is a high volume ping list
There are many Black Jewish Israelis.
I have never seen a Black Palestinian.
Who are the racists?
That's an interesting thought. I'd like to know how many news outlets pick up these pictures. In Europe, it is zero, no doubt.
TRANSFER
May his and his colleague's memory continue to be honored.
Isn't this the second time there was a bomber at French Hill?
Prayers for the heroes.
Cpl. Mamoya Tahio was a Falasha I'm guessing?
RIP
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