by Lilach Shoval, Efrat Forsher, Yori Yalon, Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff
Staff Sgt. Gal (Gabriel) Kobi, 20, dies after shot in neck by Palestinian sniper near Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Sunday • Following attack, Israeli security forces impose closure on Hebron • High school friend: Gal was the salt of the earth.
Kobi was transported to
Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, where he died
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Photo credit: Reuters 
Staff Sgt. Gal (Gabriel) Kobi
The Israel Defense Forces imposed a closure on
Hebron on Sunday evening after an Israeli soldier was shot and
killed in an apparent Palestinian sniper attack.
Staff Sgt. Gal (Gabriel) Kobi, 20, was shot in
the neck as he stood at the Pharmacy Checkpoint, not far from the Cave
of the Patriarchs. Kobi was rushed to Shaare Zedek Medical Center in
Jerusalem in critical condition. Doctors fought to save his life, but
their efforts ultimately proved futile.
The attack took place during Sukkot
festivities in Hebron, as part of which access to the Cave of the
Patriarchs was limited to Jewish worshippers only. Thousands of Jews
visited Hebron on Sunday. The IDF deployed significant reinforcements in
the area to secure Sukkot-related events.
On Sunday evening, violent unrest broke out at
one location on the security perimeter. It was during this disturbance
that a single bullet was fired from afar at Kobi, who served in the
Rotem Battalion of the Givati Brigade. Due to the accuracy of the shot,
the IDF believes it was fired by a professional sniper. No bullet was
found at the scene.
After the shooting, Israeli security forces
scoured Hebron in an effort to find the shooter. A Palestinian security
official said the IDF arrested a number of suspects. The IDF said it
found two rifles and made two arrests during searches in Hebron on
Sunday night.
The IDF's search efforts continued on Monday,
Army Radio reported. By midday, the closure on Hebron had been lifted,
except in the neighborhood of Jabal Johar.
A senior Israeli defense official said that
the IDF had no prior warning of the attack. The official ruled out any
connection between the Hebron attack and the killing of Sgt. Tomer Hazan
by a Palestinian near Qalqilya on Friday. According to the official, a
new terror trend in Judea and Samaria has not been identified. He said
it would take a few days to determine whether that assessment would
hold.
After the attack, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen.
Benny Gantz met with GOC Central Command Maj. Gen. Nitzan Alon and other
relevant military officials.
"The attacks over the past few days don't
indicate an escalation in Judea and Samaria," IDF Spokersperson Brig.
Gen. Yoav Mordechai told Army Radio on Monday morning. "Our assessment
is unchanged. What we're seeing are isolated events. The case of Tomer
[Hazan], blessed be his memory, and also the case of Gal [Kobi], blessed
be his memory, are isolated incidents, and we don't see a change in
this trend."
Dr. Danny Fink, a heart surgeon at Shaare
Zedek Medical Center, said, "[Kobi] was unconscious when he arrived. He
was lifeless, with no blood pressure or pulse. He lost consciousness 15
to 20 minutes before he arrived at the hospital. Despite all the
efforts, he died from loss of blood."
Kobi lived in Tirat Carmel, a town south of
Haifa. Friends and relatives poured into his parents' home to try to
help them cope with the loss of their son.
The news of Kobi's death spread quickly throughout his hometown.
"Gal was a wonderful son to his parents, a
great brother and a good friend," a high school friend told Israel
Hayom. "He was the salt of the earth. He was motivated about the army
and always dreamed of serving in the Givati Brigade."
"When I heard that he was critically wounded, I prayed
he would pull through. I and all of his friends don't believe that we
won't again see the smile that was always spread across his face. He was
always optimistic, even when things were tough. This is a big loss to
his family, the country and indeed all of us."
Lilach Shoval, Efrat Forsher, Yori Yalon, Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12141
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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