Kibbutz Metzer, between the Shomron and Hadera in central Israel, is in mourning today, after a terrorist infiltrated the town last night, slaughtered two children and three adults, then kept the security forces and the kibbutz on tense alert until this morning when it was ascertained that he had in fact fled the area.
The murderer entered the Kibbutz, 30 miles northeast of Tel Aviv but only a few hundred meters from Arab-populated Shomron areas, shortly before midnight. He first shot at two people walking on a path, mortally wounding Tirtzah Damari, 42, of Elyachin; her companion managed to escape and hid out in a barn for several hours. Yitzchak Dori, 43, head of the kibbutz secretariat, came to assist when he heard the gunfire, and apparently fired several shots at the terrorist. But the Arab returned fire and killed him. He then entered a house and pumped bullets into a 4- and 5-year-old brother and sister and their mother - the Ochayon family - as she was reading them a story.
At this point, it was not clear if there were one, two or three terrorists, or where he or they were, and residents were ordered to stay indoors with their lights off while a thorough manhunt in every corner of the kibbutz was launched. Only towards morning were the residents allowed out, after the terrorist was declared to have fled. Very heavy police, Border Guard, and IDF forces are still present in neighboring areas.
Dori will be buried at 3 PM this afternoon in Metzer, while Tirtzah Damari will be laid to rest in Elyachin at the same time. She is the third Oslo War victim from Elyachin in the past year - though no attacks have taken place there. The funerals of the Ochayon family members - Revital, her daughter Matan, 5, and son Noam, 4 - have not yet been announced. Revital was separated from her husband with whom she was speaking on the phone when the terrorist entered her home. She and her two children moved to Metzer from Pardes Chana a few months ago.
The murderer entered the Kibbutz, 30 miles northeast of Tel Aviv but only a few hundred meters from Arab-populated Shomron areas, shortly before midnight. He first shot at two people walking on a path, mortally wounding Tirtzah Damari, 42, of Elyachin; her companion managed to escape and hid out in a barn for several hours. Yitzchak Dori, 43, head of the kibbutz secretariat, came to assist when he heard the gunfire, and apparently fired several shots at the terrorist. But the Arab returned fire and killed him. He then entered a house and pumped bullets into a 4- and 5-year-old brother and sister and their mother - the Ochayon family - as she was reading them a story.
At this point, it was not clear if there were one, two or three terrorists, or where he or they were, and residents were ordered to stay indoors with their lights off while a thorough manhunt in every corner of the kibbutz was launched. Only towards morning were the residents allowed out, after the terrorist was declared to have fled. Very heavy police, Border Guard, and IDF forces are still present in neighboring areas.
Dori will be buried at 3 PM this afternoon in Metzer, while Tirtzah Damari will be laid to rest in Elyachin at the same time. She is the third Oslo War victim from Elyachin in the past year - though no attacks have taken place there. The funerals of the Ochayon family members - Revital, her daughter Matan, 5, and son Noam, 4 - have not yet been announced. Revital was separated from her husband with whom she was speaking on the phone when the terrorist entered her home. She and her two children moved to Metzer from Pardes Chana a few months ago.