IDF reservist Sgt.-Maj. Ami Cohen, 27, from Netanya, who was killed in battle near Bethlehem yesterday morning, will be buried in the military cemetery in Netanya this afternoon.
Cohen was killed in a battle in which a top terrorist murderer, Ali Allan, was also killed. Allan had been heading a large Hamas military cell in Hevron over the past few weeks, after escaping from Bethlehem following the Kiryat Menachem bus attack in Jerusalem last November. More than 50 Israelis were killed in terror attacks orchestrated by Allan, including bus bombings in Haifa, the Patt junction outside Gilo, and Kiryat Menachem. He was considered the most senior Hamas terrorist figure in all of Judea.
An IDF force was searching a home in a village near Tekoa when terrorists opened fire from one of the rooms. Ami Cohen was mortally wounded and died, while another soldier was wounded. Ami is survived by his parents and five older siblings, including a twin sister, and was planning to marry Galit Cohen. He was employed as a security guard at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, taught horseback riding, was active in many charity organizations, and volunteered to help the blind and in the civil guard. Although exempt from army reserve duty because of a back injury, he volunteered to join his Givati Brigade unit during its reserve service.
Cohen was killed in a battle in which a top terrorist murderer, Ali Allan, was also killed. Allan had been heading a large Hamas military cell in Hevron over the past few weeks, after escaping from Bethlehem following the Kiryat Menachem bus attack in Jerusalem last November. More than 50 Israelis were killed in terror attacks orchestrated by Allan, including bus bombings in Haifa, the Patt junction outside Gilo, and Kiryat Menachem. He was considered the most senior Hamas terrorist figure in all of Judea.
An IDF force was searching a home in a village near Tekoa when terrorists opened fire from one of the rooms. Ami Cohen was mortally wounded and died, while another soldier was wounded. Ami is survived by his parents and five older siblings, including a twin sister, and was planning to marry Galit Cohen. He was employed as a security guard at the American Embassy in Tel Aviv, taught horseback riding, was active in many charity organizations, and volunteered to help the blind and in the civil guard. Although exempt from army reserve duty because of a back injury, he volunteered to join his Givati Brigade unit during its reserve service.