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Major Avihu Ya'acov

"We thank you in the name of our family, your friends and the State of Israel" -Gadi

[Israel]

Tzahal's Doctrine:

(http://www.idf.il/english/doctrine/doctrine.stm)

(http://www.idf.il/english/organization/golani/golani.stm)

"To defend the existence, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Israel.
To protect the inhabitants of Israel and to combat all forms of terrorism which threaten the daily life."

An IDF Officer Killed, another Officer Badly Wounded and another Soldier lightly wounded during an IDF Operation
This Morning in the City of Nablus

An IDF Officer, Major Avihu Ya'acov, 24 from Haifa, was killed this morning, another IDF Officer was badly wounded and another soldier was lightly wounded from Palestinian fire that was opened towards the IDF force while it was operating within the city of Nablus. The families of officer who was killed and of the officer who was badly wounded were notified. IDF forces from the Golani Brigade have been operating all night long inside the city of Nablus in order to thwart terror activities and terror infrastructure. Whiles operating within one of the buildings near Kasaba, in which several wanted suspects were hiding, fire was opened towards force from one of the apartments. As a result of the shooting, two IDF officers were hit, the Brigade Commander and the Company Commander, and another soldier was lightly wounded. An IDF helicopter evacuated the wounded soldiers to a hospital in order to receive medical treatment. The Brigade Commander, Major Avihu Ya'acov, died from his wound in the hospital. His funeral will be held today, May 3, 2002, at 14:45, in the military plot in the Kfar Hasidim cemetery. During the exchange of fire that took place, the IDF force managed to hit two armed terrorists. During the operation, the forces had arrested four Palestinians wanted by the Security Forces, suspected of planning to organize a murderous terror attack within the state of Israel. In addition, during the operation, seven armed Palestinians had surrendered themselves into the hands of the IDF forces. The forces confiscated their weapons and released them. Moreover, tow weapon labs were discovered inside the building and a car containing various weapons was also discovered. The building and the car were exploded under the supervision of the IDF forces. In the end of the operation the forces left the area under the Palestinian Security control. The detained were taken for questioning by the Security Forces.

Thousands attended Ya’acov’s funeral in Kfar Hassidim Friday afternoon. He was appointed Golani Battalion commander a month ago, and participated in Operation Defensive Shield in the Jenin refugee camp. His two brothers also serve in elite IDF units and took part in Operation Defensive Shield in the West Bank. Ya’acov served in the naval commandos and on Independence Day received a commendation from OC Northern Command Maj.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazy in recognition of his service.

Relatives, friends, and soldiers who had served under Ya’acov’s command described him as a quiet person who loved his country and always led his troops into action.

Col. Moshe Tamir, who delivered a eulogy at Ya’acov’s funeral, said, “You led your troops determinedly in some of the most difficult battles, Tulkarm, Ramallah, Jenin, Hebron, and now Nablus. You were always at the forefront leading your soldiers.”

 

One officer killed, one hurt in Nablus raid

By Amos Harel

Major Avihu Yaakov was killed during the IDF's operation in the West Bank city.

An IDF tank driving through Nablus Friday.
(Photo: Reuters)

Battalion Commander Major Avihu Yaakov, 24, was killed Friday in an Israel Defense Forces' raid in Nablus on Friday. Yaakov, from the Golani infantry brigade's 51st company, was buried Friday afternoon in Kfar Hassidim. The company's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ofek Buchris, was badly wounded in the Nablus clash.

Yaakov was the seventh soldier from his battalion to be killed since the start of Operation Defensive Shield.

The IDF operation in Nablus was designed as a strike against a terror cell that was planning a suicide attack in Israel. The 51st Company had little time to plan the raid, with their orders reaching the Golani officers Thursday afternoon.

The operation resembled other actions carried out recently by regular infantry units in the West Bank. The Shin Bet security service relayed information about an imminent terror strike and the operation's targets were mapped out in aerial photos furnished to the Golani commanders. In the past, operations of this sort were planned for weeks in a very tense atmosphere; but infantry units have, in past months, acquired extensive field experience, and Palestinian resistance in towns and cities has dropped in intensity, partly as a result of blows sustained by the Palestinian terror groups during Operation Defensive Shield.

The initial, pre-dawn phases of the Nablus operation went smoothly and a number of terror suspects were apprehended without incident. But shots were fired from a Hamas weapons laboratory at 5:30 A.M., as Lieutenant Colonel Buchris and an aide circled around a house on the edge of Nablus' open market area. Buchris and the other IDF man both sustained injuries: Buchris was wounded badly in his stomach, hand and leg by four bullets (his condition was later listed as stable), and the second soldier sustained light injuries.

In synch with the gunfire, a mine exploded, mortally wounding Yaakov in the head. He died shortly after his arrival at Sheba Medical Center.

In response, IDF tanks fired in the direction of the weapons laboratory. The tank shells and explosions in the Hamas facility caused extensive damage to the building. The Hamas operative, Ali Mansur Hassan Hadayari, who had fired at the IDF soldiers was killed.

Hadayari, from Tul Karm, had been pursued by Israeli security forces as a terror suspect for some time. According to security sources, he had been involved in a number of terror attacks, including the Passover eve strike at Netanya's Park Hotel.

IDF forces left Nablus around 9:00 A.M. Friday. At least three Hamas suspects were seized during the raid. One, Said Kasam Asmah, had intended to carry out a suicide strike in central Israel this week, Israeli sources said.

Apart from the Nablus operation, the IDF arrested terror suspects in other areas of the West Bank on Friday. A Border Police undercover unit, assisted by Nahal soldiers, arrested a Palestinian suspect at A-Ram, north of Jerusalem. The suspect, from the Jenin camp, had apparently been on his way to carry out a strike in Jerusalem, security sources indicated.

IDF reservists also detained two Hamas operatives in the village of Bidyah, west of Ariel. In Duma, west of Hebron, special IDF forces detained two more

Palestinian terror suspects.

Relatively few gunfire incidents were reported in the territories this weekend. No Israelis were hurt in these incidents. Since the end of Operation Defensive Shield, there had been a sharp drop in shooting incidents, Israeli officials stressed.

Major Avihu Yaakov was described by army comrades and friends as an idealist who was fully committed to his army duties and national-religious ideals. "He was the leader of young people in our age group," said a friend from Kfar Hassidim.

Friends recalled that Yaakov had completed a training course in an elite naval commando unit "despite the fact that he often had to walk home by foot from the commando base in Atlit to Kfar Hassidim, in order to avoid desecrating the Jewish Sabbath."

"We thank you in the name of our family, your friends and the State of Israel," eulogized his father, Gadi Yaakov, at Friday's funeral in Kfar Hassidim. Yaakov is survived by his parents, two brothers and three sisters.