Posted on 02/04/2003 2:34:51 PM PST by anotherview
Feb. 4, 2003
Man puts self between terrorist and victim in Gaza strip (UPDATE)
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
Uriel Spielman, 27, was shot in the chest by a terrorist as he drove towards the hothouses in Kfar Darom on Tuesday morning.
The terrorist perpetrated the attack in the yard of a house located on the outskirts of Dir Al Ballah.
Resident Oz Kadmon who was heading back towards the community spotted the gunshots being fired at Spielman and drove his car to block the terrorist's range of gunfire.
Kadmon then assisted Spielman into his car and drove back towards the community alerting security forces on the way.
Spielman was moderately wounded and was taken by ambulance to Soroka Hospital in Beersheba.
Security forces that reached the site conducted searches in the area and reached the house the terrorist was spotted shooting from. At the site they found ammunition clips belonging to a Kalashnikov rifle and a commando knife.
As security forces reached the building the terrorist managed to escape. The Hamas later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Shortly afterwards security forces demolished the house the terrorist shot from and cleared foliage surrounding a nearby path that cuts through Kfar Darom and the hothouse area and continues towards the outskirts of Dir Al Ballah.
Speaking to the Jerusalem Post hours after the attack, Kadmon said he blamed the State Attorney's office and the High Court of Justice who despite the army's recommendations block the demolishing of Palestinian houses and the clearing of land around the community. "Their failure to heed to the army's recommendations leads to more blood shed and the spilling of blood," he said.
Kadmon also criticised Labour Party leader Amram Mitzna who on Monday mentioned Kfar Darom as one of the places to be evacuated. "I would like to personally thank Mitzna for his words from the bottom of my heart, today we saw the response to his statements," he said.
On one of the seats in Spielman's car was the bullet ridden booklet called "MY 15 Steps," a guide to assist victims of terror attacks that was written by Gush Katif resident Rahel Saperstein, based on her personal experiences.
In Rafah security forces demolished three empty structures in response to the shooting of an anti tank rocket at IDF forces over the weekend. The army denied Palestinian reports that five buildings had been demolished.
The IDF Spokesman said the three tin shanties were unpopulated and were used by terrorists to fire the anti tank rocket. The IDF Spokesman noted that a month ago from the very same buildings Palestinians fired an anti tank rocket at an APC wounding four soldiers.
Elsewhere in the region, shots were fired several times at IDF posts near Rafah in the evening and earlier in the day. In the afternoon security forces arrested a fugitive at the Erez crossing in the north Gaza Strip.
In the West Bank shots were fired at soldiers deployed in Tulkarm. Earlier, security forces operating in Beit Furik south east of Nablus demolished the home of Sa'ad Tawfik Hassan Hanani, a Fatah member who infiltrated the Jordan Valley community of Mekora in August last year, and murdered an Israeli woman and seriously wounded her husband.
Good for him. And Mitzna would only make himself look like a bigger ass if he retorted to a guy who just risked his life to save a fellow Jew.
I am most certainly NOT "blaming the victim", and I think the guy showed great clanging guy parts, but I cannot fathom how anyone would ever not have a weapon. Or several.
You want a piece of me, it's gonna cost you. If I don't get you, that 60 year old grandmother will. Shalom.
Simple, gun laws. Although they've been liberalized the last year or so, Israel's gun laws, originally based on the Brit's tradition, are still fairly restrictive. In general, even you or I wouldn't own several weapons.A couple of links.
. As a rule, an Israeli 21 or older with a clean criminal record, in good health, and with no history of mental illness can get a license for a handgun only if he or she lives or works full-time in Judea, Samaria, Gaza or certain "confrontation line" areas; drives passengers or explosives for a living; owns a jewelry store; is an active police volunteer; or holds the rank of lieutenant or higher in the IDF or police. Until recently one had to be a lieutenant colonel to obtain a gun, but the sharp rise in terror attacks caused the Interior Ministry to ease its criteria.
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