Kiryat Arba
Kiryat ArbaIsrael news photo: Flash 90 / archive

Hundreds of people took part in a special hike Tuesday in honor of Amir Mansouri, a young soldier from Kiryat Arba who died stopping a suicide bomber.

Mansouri died in a 2002 attack as he and his commander charged a suicide bomber who had reached the Kissufim checkpoint between Gaza and southern Israel.

More than 10 years have passed since his death, but more than 20 of Amir’s army friends still turned up to take part in the hike in his memory. The hike took place outside his hometown of Kiryat Arba.

Malachi Levinger, head of the Kiryat Arba-Hevron council, said, “We gathered here to remember Amir. We all remember him, and feel that he was part of the community that we are protecting and preserving every day.”

“Amir’s story symbolizes Israeli courage and above all teaches us the value of comradery, which we must pass on to the generations to come,” he added.

Amir was survived by his parents and four siblings.