Morel Moyiz Nikar, West Bank settlement Eli's security guard who killed one of the terrorists in the shooting attack near the settlement over a week ago that took the lives of four victims, is currently recovering at the home of his parents-in-law.
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In an exclusive interview with Ynet, he recounted the dramatic moments at the gas station, and the fire exchange with the terrorist, and opened up about how he and his wife are coping after the murderous attack.
Morel was injured by two bullets fired at him by the terrorist, one in the leg and the other in the shoulder.
"I feel good, in general, all the support from the very beginning and all the people who came - it really warms the heart. It's a great feeling," he told Ynet. "It's a miracle that I'm alive. The two bullets that hit me didn't hit any vital organs or main arteries, they only hit muscle. I have a large hole in my leg, but it will heal with time. I believe that within a few months, I will return to function fully. I'm undergoing rehabilitation and physiotherapy and I can already see progress."
When asked if, after more than a week and after watching the footage of the incident, he understands what happened and what he did, he replied: "Yes. Maybe I could have done even more. I remember I was at the entrance gate to Eli, and then I heard gunfire very close. I went outside and saw that the traffic at the gas station was at a standstill, and immediately I understood it was a terrorist attack. I ran to my car, grabbed a long weapon, and tried to get to the intersection as quickly as possible. As I turned towards the gas station, I saw the terrorist running towards me, and then I saw someone entering the gas station who didn't know there was an attack. The terrorist reached his window and shot at him point-blank. I saw that and immediately jumped, I was exposed near the door and I fired at him while he was shooting at me for about five seconds. It felt like much longer to me.
"We stared into each other's eyes, me and the terrorist, and then I fired 10 shots at him. He fell, and then he tried to reach for his weapon again, and then I shot again, but he didn't give up. While I was injured in the leg and shoulder, instinctively I raised my leg, and then he fell again. I opened the door and raised my injured leg in the air, and then I called for backup, but there were many shouts. At that moment, I saw the second terrorist taking the car that was there. He had a smile on his face, escaped from there, and fled towards Nablus. After a few minutes, army medical forces arrived and treated me."
However, for the Nikar family, this was just the beginning of the dramatic saga. While Morel was engaged in a firefight with the terrorist, his wife Dror tried to comprehend what fate had befallen her husband, with the dreadful thought constantly occupying her mind. She recounted, "I picked up the children from daycare, and a friend told me to leave them at the playground. I said, 'Alright, that works,' as Morel was at work and he would finish at six and we'd go back together.
"The children started playing, and then someone at the playground saw a push notification on their phone about a suspected terrorist attack in Eli. I didn't get alarmed because suspicion arises from time to time. I said I would call Morel. It took him a few moments to answer, and then he told me, 'I took him down. I'm injured and they're treating me,' and then I didn't hear anything. I told the women there that I think there was an attack. I called the police operation room, I told them I'm Moriel's wife, and that I know he's injured, but they couldn't tell me anything. Then I heard an alert to enter homes due to the fear of infiltrating terrorists."
Minutes after the attack, when the security officials realized that there was another armed terrorist who had escaped the scene, there was concern that he would attempt to enter the Eli settlement - and therefore, the Home Front Command alert was activated, and all residents were instructed to stay in their homes, while Dror was with her two young children. "I didn't know what to do. I took the children by the hand, and then a nearby couple said, 'Come into our house,' so I tried to understand what was happening with Moriel. No one got back to me," she said.
According to her, "I didn't try to talk to him again because I realized he wasn't in a condition to speak. Suddenly, I started receiving calls from people asking, 'Dror, are you okay? Do you need anything?' No other woman besides me received messages or calls. At that point, I began to worry, and despite talking to him and him telling me he was injured, the situation could easily deteriorate. Blood loss can happen easy, and I was really afraid of the worst-case scenario."
"Then I received a push notification that there were fatalities," she continued. "My whole body was shaking, I was with both children and without Morel. Then Morel's brother called me, and I immediately told him, 'I don't know what's happening with him,' and he said he knew and that Morel was fine but suffering from anxiety. It didn't make sense to me because Morel told me he was injured, and then my heart sank because I was certain something terrible had happened. They didn't want to tell me and waited for teams to arrive to inform me about what had occurred. I felt the worst possible thing was happening. Nevertheless, I decided to call him out of genuine fear, and after a few rings, he answered and told me he was in an ambulance. I could breathe. Then I asked where they were taking him, and he said Bilinson, but I couldn't reach him because we still had to stay at home. In short, it was one big nightmare."
Two days ago, Moriel arrived in the Eli settlement, where he was welcomed by the residents. Despite saving the lives of civilians with his own body and risking his life against the terrorist's gunfire, he still wonders what would have happened if he had arrived earlier.
"When I arrived, I saw the terrorist shooting the third victim, and since then, I've been asking myself what would have happened if I had arrived 10 seconds earlier. If I had been driving faster, heard the gunfire earlier. That's what I constantly think about," he said.
His wife Dror admitted, "That's Morel, he says these things, but after all the investigations we've done, we saw that there was no chance of saving more lives. Morel behaved like a hero and saved many people who were at the station."