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.
Very, very sad.
Words cannot properly express what I feel about this.
I don't know the proper Jewish prayer -- but I am pretty sure that they generally don't spell G-d's name.
The greatest sacrifice is to lay one's life down for another's. May they rest in G-d's arms having done that which had to be done.
Heroes in the arms of the Almighty.
May their memory be eternal.
They are heros and very good looking
So those guys are one that kept FEMALE Suicide bomber out
GOOD sadness to post with high price they pay to keep Israel
Cat Islam Stevens bought the bombs and compensated the murdering Muhammadan's family...he supports Hamas with cash, among a long list of "moderate" Muhammadan accomplishments...
Done..
Thank you for the post and pictures, CG. As usual, I can find none of the sympathy for "Palistinian" Arabs that is supposed to be earned by these killings and their retributions. I have no idea why Israel permits it to go on, in fact. If our American leaders tolerated such attacks, I would not be able to stand it.
My blood boils when I see things like this. Terrorism is the most cowardly of acts.
Everytime I see this father's face I cry.
The free world must become fully intolerant of these killers. That is the only solution. You know it, I know it. It will go on and on as long as we continue to look the other way. And it will come to America on a scale that's never been imagined.
Totally. And until half of America and much of Europe stops going so overboard on the PC that they're scared to profile people of the muslim religion, the terrorists will continue to take advantage of our current system.
We need to let the President know how much we appreciate the deportation of Cat Stevens. Anyone who donates money to these savages or supports the fatwa against one of their critics (Salman Rushdie) does not deserve to set foot on American soil.
No Greater Love....
http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=John+15:13 -- for all of us, even if we doubt.
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