Thousands on Thursday, attended the funeral of the police officer who was killed on Tuesday in a terror attack in Bnei Brak.
The burial ceremony of Amir Khouri, began in the Church Of Annunciation in Nazareth and followed by a funeral march to the military cemetery in Nof Hagalil, where he was laid to rest in a police funeral.
"He is a real hero, he is a fighter, he fears nothing", said Houri's girlfriend Shani Yesher. "He loved the police and was always first to respond. He told me that one day he would stop a terror attack. I told him it was not worth it," she said.
"He told me he promises to take care of himself", she said in agony. "I ask that everyone will say that he was a hero, even though he wouldn't like his picture everywhere. For seven years I haven't posted a picture of us and now there are pictures of us everywhere. He would go crazy if he could see this".
Shani said she was afraid that something like this would happen: "He's already been through a really tough accident and got over it. He didn't want to be on sick-leave for one minute. He always wanted to be doing and be out on the front line, he didn't care if he took a hit, so that others are not hurt. I'm sure that it hurts him that other people were also killed, besides him. If you were to ask him now, he would've wanted only himself to die".
Shani said Khouri had completed a law degree, "but he didn't want to be a lawyer. He wanted to stay in the police, always stood proudly with the police uniform".
When his father Jeris heard the live broadcasts reporting the attack in Bnei Brak, Jeris tried to call his son, and then texted him asking him to call and tell him that he was OK.
"I immediately sent him a message and he didn't reply," the father said. "I started to call, maybe 20 times. There was no response. He didn't say goodbye," he said in tears.
When Khouri was pronounced dead around 10PM that night, Jeris had not yet been informed. "After 10 minutes cops from the station came, rung the doorbell, and I understood we were done," he recalled. "I'm a retired police man myself. I served for 32 years and I know what it's like in the police and the army. A tragedy came upon us, like thunder on a sunny day."
On Tuesday, shortly before 8 pm, reports came into the police, of an armed man in Bnei Brak. Khouri's team rushed to the scene and within two minutes, he and his partner came face to face with the terrorist. They engaged in exchanges of fire and Khouri was wounded. his partner succeeded in killing the gunman.
Body cam footage of the Bnei Brak terror attack
(Photo: Israel Police)
Bodycam footage released by the police a day after the attack included Khouri's partner reporting the incident. "Backup, he's down, he's down. Backup, scan the area, we killed him. MDA to the scene now, officer injured, MDA to the scene now... Bring me MDA now. One suspect down, officer injured, bring me MDA now and teams to close in. Terrorist down, motorcycle policeman injured, that's all".
Besides Khouri, four other innocent lives were taken in the attack: Yaakov Shalom (37) and Avishai Yehezkel (30) from Bnei Brak, and two Ukrainian workers residing in Israel- Victor Sorokopot (32) and Dimitri Mitrik (24).
First published: 18:12, 03.31.22