Monday, November 28, 2011

Misplaced Trust, Honourable Forgiveness

Nephew of Soldier Who Died at Joseph's Tomb Joins IDF
by Gil Ronen Nephew of Joseph's Tomb Victim Joins IDF





The nephew of a soldier whose death on October 1, 2000, is a painful chapter in the IDF's history, has joined the military and has entered the ranks of the Border Police, in which his late brother served.

Eleven years ago, Madhat Yusef, a Druze soldier, was wounded when an Arab mob stormed Joseph's Tomb in Shechem. The IDF did not mount an operation to rescue him, instead trusting assurances by the Palestinian Authority (PA) that it would do so itself. The PA did not assist him, however, and he bled to death slowly, over the course of four hours.

Madhat's death is considered to be a stain in the annals of the IDF, and as contradicting the ethos of leaving no soldier behind on the battlefield. He was one of the first casualties of the bloody terror war that broke out in September 2000, which has come to be known as the Oslo War or the Second Intifada.

Border Police Commander Maj.-Gen. Yoram Halevy uncovered Tarwat's combat soldier's pin, newspaper Yisrael Hayom reported. "My father Salman served in the Border Police for 28 years," said Mahdi, Tarwat's father, at the ceremony in which Tarwat was sworn in. "The Border Police is our home. I am proud of my son Tarwat who decided to continue in the path of my father and Madhat, and to protect the security of the State of Israel."

While the Border Police force belongs to the Israel Police, it largely employs soldiers in the course of their mandatory tem of service.



As published online at ArutzSheva, 28 November 2011

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