A lone Palestinian terrorist murdered three Israelis at the Kisufim Crossing entrance to Gush Katif in a well-planned ambush last night. The terrorist, armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and grenades, hid in a building near the junction, and shot at a car driven by Ganei Tal resident Ahuva Amargi, 30, a mother of two. She was killed instantly. The Givati Brigade soldiers stationed nearby immediately responded in two jeeps led by Capt. Mor Elraz. The terrorist hit the first jeep with a burst of automatic gunfire and hand grenades. Elraz was gravely wounded - he later died on the operating table - and radioman Sgt. Amir Mansuri was killed. N\'vei Dekalim resident Moshe Sapirstein then happened on the scene in his car, which he turned and rammed into the terrorist. The Arab continued to fire, however, wounding Sapirstein in his hand and leg. The soldiers in the second jeep continued to fire at the terrorist, finally killing him. Sapirstein, 60, lost his right arm in the Yom Kippur War, and surgeons worked for several hours to save his left hand. Two other Israelis were also wounded in the attack.
Ahuva Amargi was buried this afternoon in Gush Katif, in the presence of many hundreds of people. Capt. Elraz was laid to rest afterwards in Kiryat Ata in the north, and Sgt. Amir Mansouri of Kiryat Arba was buried in Jerusalem\'s Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery.
Kfar Darom residents say that Elraz and Mansouri prevented a much worse attack. Asher Mivtzari, who has lived in the area for over 20 years, told Arutz-7 today, \"We knew the two soldiers, and our community feels great pain at their loss. The attack could have ended with many more casualties, but the commander Mor Elraz did not hesitate for a second, but ran immediately to the site and helped kill the terrorist and prevent many more civilian casualties. It is very painful for us to see again and again that although the soldiers are willing to do everything they can, the government does not give the orders. There was an hours-long battle today at the Windmill - the army promised in the past that as soon as the Arabs shoot from there, it would take over the building. But today, when a terrorist hid there, the army didn\'t blow up the building, nor did they even fire back with heavy firepower… It is terribly frustrating for us to see how the government does not give orders to fight the war the way it should be fought…\"
Rachel Sapirstein, wife of the wounded Moshe Sapirstein, also spoke with Arutz-7 today: \"I was able to speak only a few words to my husband since the attack, but I saw that he still has his sense of humor…\" When asked how she found out how he was hurt, she said, \"When I heard about the attack, I called to ask where he was... He said that they were now putting him into the ambulance, as he had been wounded in the leg and arm…\" She said that she and her husband moved to N\'vei Dekalim \"just over four years ago, after my daughter was wounded in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. I was very angered by the Rabin-Peres concessions and everything that was going on in our state, so I became active in Women in Green, and we decided to look for a Yesha community to move to, and we fell in love with N\'vei Dekalim, the most beautiful place in Israel, with the sand dunes and the ocean - it\'s like a dream...\"
MK Tzvi Hendel, former Gaza Coast Regional Council head and still a resident there, bemoaned the loss of his neighbor in Ganei Tal, Ahuva Amargi: \"A young, wonderful woman, a true angel, what inner strengths - she had beauty, both inside and outside... a great soul. She married a boy who grew up here, and had two children... very modest, always smiling - I don\'t know, it\'s something strange - always the best ones are the ones they take away from us...\"
Asked about the closing of the Kisufim junction for several hours this morning, Hendel said, \"It is total insanity. The Arabs built a flour mill at the junction - Rabin was against it, but Peres [who succeeded him] gave permission at the last minute when he saw he was going to lose the election. It\'s a giant building at the entrance to Gush Katif... A terrorist goes and hides there today, and instead of blowing it up, they spend six hours looking for him from room to room, and the junction was closed the whole time and we were prevented from going home or leaving… But that\'s the way it is when there\'s no direction...\" He explained that even were his party to quit the government, this would not bring it down, would just increase Peres\' influence on Sharon, and \"even the little that is being done now wouldn\'t be done... I don\'t know what happened to Sharon, I think he\'s afraid of the left and of the media... I have said that if he doesn\'t change his policies, he must call early elections, because he is not the Arik Sharon that the country elected...\"
Ahuva Amargi was buried this afternoon in Gush Katif, in the presence of many hundreds of people. Capt. Elraz was laid to rest afterwards in Kiryat Ata in the north, and Sgt. Amir Mansouri of Kiryat Arba was buried in Jerusalem\'s Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery.
Kfar Darom residents say that Elraz and Mansouri prevented a much worse attack. Asher Mivtzari, who has lived in the area for over 20 years, told Arutz-7 today, \"We knew the two soldiers, and our community feels great pain at their loss. The attack could have ended with many more casualties, but the commander Mor Elraz did not hesitate for a second, but ran immediately to the site and helped kill the terrorist and prevent many more civilian casualties. It is very painful for us to see again and again that although the soldiers are willing to do everything they can, the government does not give the orders. There was an hours-long battle today at the Windmill - the army promised in the past that as soon as the Arabs shoot from there, it would take over the building. But today, when a terrorist hid there, the army didn\'t blow up the building, nor did they even fire back with heavy firepower… It is terribly frustrating for us to see how the government does not give orders to fight the war the way it should be fought…\"
Rachel Sapirstein, wife of the wounded Moshe Sapirstein, also spoke with Arutz-7 today: \"I was able to speak only a few words to my husband since the attack, but I saw that he still has his sense of humor…\" When asked how she found out how he was hurt, she said, \"When I heard about the attack, I called to ask where he was... He said that they were now putting him into the ambulance, as he had been wounded in the leg and arm…\" She said that she and her husband moved to N\'vei Dekalim \"just over four years ago, after my daughter was wounded in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem. I was very angered by the Rabin-Peres concessions and everything that was going on in our state, so I became active in Women in Green, and we decided to look for a Yesha community to move to, and we fell in love with N\'vei Dekalim, the most beautiful place in Israel, with the sand dunes and the ocean - it\'s like a dream...\"
MK Tzvi Hendel, former Gaza Coast Regional Council head and still a resident there, bemoaned the loss of his neighbor in Ganei Tal, Ahuva Amargi: \"A young, wonderful woman, a true angel, what inner strengths - she had beauty, both inside and outside... a great soul. She married a boy who grew up here, and had two children... very modest, always smiling - I don\'t know, it\'s something strange - always the best ones are the ones they take away from us...\"
Asked about the closing of the Kisufim junction for several hours this morning, Hendel said, \"It is total insanity. The Arabs built a flour mill at the junction - Rabin was against it, but Peres [who succeeded him] gave permission at the last minute when he saw he was going to lose the election. It\'s a giant building at the entrance to Gush Katif... A terrorist goes and hides there today, and instead of blowing it up, they spend six hours looking for him from room to room, and the junction was closed the whole time and we were prevented from going home or leaving… But that\'s the way it is when there\'s no direction...\" He explained that even were his party to quit the government, this would not bring it down, would just increase Peres\' influence on Sharon, and \"even the little that is being done now wouldn\'t be done... I don\'t know what happened to Sharon, I think he\'s afraid of the left and of the media... I have said that if he doesn\'t change his policies, he must call early elections, because he is not the Arik Sharon that the country elected...\"