He was a soldier home on leave, riding his bike down Jaffa Road on Wednesday when he spotted the overturned No. 13 bus and a massive bulldozer tearing through the streets of Jerusalem. Realizing that the Arab behind the wheel was in the midst of a terror rampage, "M" (his identity and unit are barred from publication by a court order) threw his bike to the side of the road and began to chase the bulldozer.
The off-duty soldier moments after he shot the terrorist on Wednesday.
Photo: Channel 2
Speaking with reporters several hours after the attack, M recalled the sequence of events that led to his courageous action.
As he began running toward the bulldozer, M said, he shouted to onlookers, asking for a gun. Together with a civilian, M climbed aboard the bulldozer and began wrestling with the driver.
"At one point he yelled out, 'Allahu Akbar,' and stepped on the gas pedal," M recalled. "I drew the weapon of the civilian who was with me and shot the driver three times in the head. I think I did what is expected from every soldier and citizen."
Seconds later, off-duty Yasam police anti-terror unit officer Eli Mizrahi climbed aboard and shot the terrorist again, killing him.
M's actions were strikingly similar to the quick thinking and fearlessness exhibited in March by Capt. David Shapira, the IDF officer who stormed the capital's Mercaz Harav Yeshiva and killed the Arab terrorist who had massacred eight students there.
M called that incident an inspiration for him.
"I thank God who gave me the strength to do what I did," he said, adding that his education in national-religious institutions, and his military training, served as the basis for his courageous conduct.
