Arab kills man, wounds cop in J'lem

Avraham Ozeri, 86, stabbed to death as he walked home from health clinic; assailant arrested.

By YAAKOV KATZ, ABE SELIG
gilo 224.88 (photo credit: Courtesy)
gilo 224.88
(photo credit: Courtesy)
An 86-year-old man was stabbed to death on Thursday in the southern Jerusalem neighborhood of Gilo by a Palestinian trying to escape arrest. Police said that the attacker, Muhammad Elmadan, a 21-year-old Palestinian from Arab Tekoa near Bethlehem, was stopped for a routine inspection on Rehov Vardinon by policeman Daniel Motza and his partner when Elmadan pulled out a large knife and attacked Motza. Elmadan then tried to flee, stabbing passerby Avraham Ozeri in the chest as he did so. Despite his wounds, Motza then succeeded in shooting Elmadan while his female partner called for backup. He was finally wrestled to the ground by Yoav Mizrahi, another passerby. The incident took place near a school, and police were investigating whether Elmadan had planned to carry out his attack there. It was the eighth attack in the capital by an individual Palestinian perpetrator in recent months, and yet another case in which a civilian played a central role in apprehending a suspect after police were unable to do so successfully. Mizrahi said Elmadan had continued running even after he was shot. "After a while he got tired and I caught up with him, wrestled him to the ground and twisted his arm behind his back," he said. Ozeri was evacuated in critical condition to the city's Shaare Zedek Hospital, where he died of his wounds. Dr. Yuval Weiss, director of the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Kerem, predicted that Motza, 32, who was stabbed in the chest and stomach and underwent a two-hour operation, would be able to function normally and perhaps be discharged in a week or so if there were no complications. Following the surgery, Motza was was taken to intensive care in serious-to-moderate condition and was being ventilated. The heroic policeman, an Ethiopian immigrant, was operated on by a medical team headed by Prof. Avi Rivkind, head of the surgical branch and trauma unit. "He will recover," said Weiss. "We believe he will be in much better condition tomorrow." Elmadan was taken to Hadassah-University Hospital for treatment as well. Later an IDF soldier was lightly wounded and eight Palestinians were hurt during clashes in Arab Tekoa near Elmadan's home when soldiers entered the village to arrest suspects in connection with the attack and were confronted by some 125 rioting Palestinians. Among the detainees were the terrorist's sister and her husband. In the past, Elmadan was twice expelled from Jerusalem after entering the city illegally and he was involved in several disturbances outside the capital, security officials said. One of the questions being asked is why the wounded officer's partner did not fire her weapon and did not pursue the attacker. However, Jerusalem Police chief Cmdr. Aharon Franco praised the officers' conduct and said that had they not responded, the attack could have ended with more casualties. "The officers at the scene acted professionally," Franco said. "The event could have ended much worse." Two weeks ago, border policemen foiled a stabbing attack near the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron after they apprehended a teenaged Palestinian carrying a knife, allegedly on his way to attack Jews praying at the holy site. Ozeri's wife died 10 years ago, and he is survived by his son, daughter and six grandchildren. His son, Amos Oz (no relation to the author), said he had seen his father earlier in the morning, when he drove him to a local health clinic. "He had just finished his errands, and then, at the wrong time and wrong place, passed by exactly where the terrorist was fleeing the police," Oz said. He added that his father had been in the Lehi pre-state underground. Other neighbors said Ozeri had worked in the Jewish Agency for many years, and since retiring had gone to the local community center every morning, where he loved to volunteer. Oz said his father had run in every marathon in the country in the past 50 years. Ozeri's neighbor Yaakov Ozeri told The Jerusalem Post that the victim was a "modest and pleasant man" who helped out in the neighborhood sports center and ran marathons, despite his old age. "He was very healthy, and he was always talking to people, asking them how they were, how he could help them," Yaakov Ozeri said. Ozeri also said that his neighbor would wave good morning to him every day, and that he was deeply saddened to see his old friend go. "Meanwhile, these Arab kids come into the neighborhood all the time, in groups of two or three or four," Ozeri continued. "I don't believe that [the attacker] was alone. Just the other night a car full of them ran through two red lights in a row, and I was shocked to see how careless they were for our safety here. They're always coming into Gilo and causing problems." "But I'm sure when he saw the Arab running towards him, it didn't even cross his mind that he was going to hurt him," Ozeri said of his neighbor. "He was that kind of person. He only saw the good." After the attack, familiar calls rang out from lawmakers to demolish Elmadan's home. MK Yitzhak Aharonovich (Israel Beiteinu) said that the series of recent terror attacks was "the result of an erosion of Israel deterrence." Aharonovich, the former deputy Israel Police chief, added that "the time has come for Defense Minister Ehud Barak to act decisively against Palestinian terror and immediately order the demolition of the terrorist's home." MK Yohanan Plesner (Kadima) expressed similar sentiments. "The terrorist's home must be demolished, and we must put an end to the bureaucratic foot-dragging that we witness after every terror attack and which hinders our ability to create an effective deterrence to future terrorists." MK Zevulun Orlev (NRP/NU) said the policy of restraint had brought about a string of terror attacks in Jerusalem. "The government must regain its composure and set a clear price - the destruction of the terrorist's home," he said. Orlev's colleague, Uri Ariel, said that the attack was the "direct result of the government's hesitancy." In contrast, MK Dov Henin (Hadash) expressed his opposition to such house demolitions. "I am opposed to the destruction of the family home. It is collective punishment and is contrary to the International Court's directives. Furthermore, IDF investigations have shown that home demolitions don't serve as a deterrence, but only create more anger and frustration that can result in more extreme, terrible acts," he said. MK Ran Cohen (Meretz) also said he opposed destroying the terrorist's home. "I am against demolishing the terrorist's home, since it has been proven that house demolitions don't prevent terror and, in my opinion, only foster more hatred," he said. Judy Siegel and Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.