Border Guard officer 'not afraid' of threats
After shooting Palestinian teen she believed was attacking a comrade, officer recounts incident, dismisses Palestinian websites' threats. Police chief: Her response attests to responsibility, loyalty
"Every soldier in uniform is under threat. It's something that we take into account when we join the army. I'm not afraid," said Thursday the Border Guard officer who shot and killed a Palestinian youth in Hebron Wednesday. The officer spoke after it was revealed that her face was featured all over social networks and Palestinian websites with the caption "criminal," next to which threats such as "Your end is near" were posted.
The officer addressed the issue during a Border Guard Hanukkah event, in which she drew great attention due to the shooting. She recounted the details of the incident, which occurred while her unit was stationed in the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron. While they were examining IDs, she suddenly noticed that the Palestinian teen was about to attack a soldier. "He was pulling out a gun and aiming it at the soldier's head. Within seconds I took out my own gun and shot at him."
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"The adrenaline was rushing through my entire body," the officer explained; "there was no time for fear or hesitation."
"I just pulled the gun out, hoping that no one from my team would get hurt. After the incident, the soldier who was attacked hugged me and thanked me, though by that point we had already realized that it was a toy gun. It could just as well have been a real gun though, and things could have ended differently."
Danino and Yaakov with the officer (Photo: Gur Dotan)
The officer's mother expressed support for her daughter, saying: "I'm proud of my daughter and stand behind her. I believe that every other officer who would have found him or herself in such a position would have reacted with the same determination."
The officer's photo, with the caption reading 'criminal'
Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino and Border Guard Commander Amos Yaakov also attended the Border Guard event. Yaakov addressed the incident, saying that "The troops were very professional; everyone must understand that officers face risks. If there is no way to thwart an attack without causing the attacker harm, this is what will happen. The lives of our troops are more sacred than the lives of those with intent to harm them and anyone who has a problem with that has a problem with me."
Danino added that "The swift and skilled response attests to camaraderie, responsibility and loyalty."
When asked about the threats to the safety of the officer, the police chief replied: "Not to worry; we will handle everything that needs to be handled."
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