Night of the Pitchforks
| Night of the Pitchforks | |
|---|---|
| Deaths | 3 Israeli soldiers[1] |
| Injured | 1 Israeli soldier[1] |
| Perpetrators | Israeli Arab militants from the Wadi Ara area |
The Night of the Pitchforks (
Menashe Heights
, and killed three Israeli soldiers.
The attack
At the time of the attack, the
Basic Training Recruits were spending a week in field training near Kibbutz Gal'ed in Ramot Menashe. Their tent encampment had not been fenced off and was lightly guarded. The four killers entered the encampment armed with knives, axes, and a pitchfork. Once inside the encampment, they approached a tent and attacked the soldier guarding it, Corporal Yuri Preda, wounding him. The attackers chased Preda into the tent as he attempted to get away from them and stabbed him to death. They then attacked two other soldiers in the tent, killing Corporal Yaakov Dubinsky and wounding Private Sergei Zatziriyani. The attackers stole M-16 rifles from the tent before exiting it. Upon leaving the tent, they encountered Corporal Guy Friedman, who was in charge of training for the weekend, killed him, and stole his IMI Galil
rifle. Another soldier who had noticed what was happening opened fire on the attackers, but his gun malfunctioned after he had fired two shots. The attackers escaped. When it became clear what had happened, the soldiers at the base could not call for help as the camp's electrical generator and two-way radio were not working, so soldiers had to go to kibbutz Gal'ed and call in assistance from there.
Preda, Dubinsky, and Zatziriyani were immigrants from the former Soviet Union who had only been in the army for three weeks. They had been undergoing a condensed basic training course before being posted to reserve units.[2]
Aftermath
The killers were eventually caught by the
Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine
.
The killers were tried in the Nazareth District Court. They freely admitted their actions, showed no remorse, and claimed to be serving Islam in a holy war against infidels. On April 29, 1992, they were sentenced to life imprisonment. They did not appeal the sentences.[3]
See also
References
External links
- IDF History in 1992 @ dover.idf.il
- Arabs attack army camp, killing 3 Israeli soldiers Archived 2012-11-07 at the Wayback Machine - The Sun, February 16, 1992
- Infiltrators Kill Three Soldiers in Israeli Camp - Los Angeles Times, February 16, 1992
- 3 Israelis killed in army camp - Chicago Tribune, February 16, 1992
Prominent Palestinian militancy attacks in the 1990s | |
|---|---|
| Within Israel |
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| West Bank |
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| Gaza Strip |
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