Memorial covered in burnt oil
Photo: Gil Yohanan
Memorial to Israelis accidentally killed in Intifada vandalized
Unknown vandals desecrate memorial to Yehuda Ben Yosef and Yoav Doron, who were killed by IDF fire during second Intifada. Victims' father: We will not be deterred
Vandals desecrated a memorial to two Israelis accidentally killed by IDF fire during the al-Aqsa Intifada in
2003. The memorial is located on what is known as 'Antenna Hill' near Hebron.
The site was erected by the Hebron Regional Council on Antenna Hill to honor the two young men, who were accidentally shot to death during the second Intifada by IDF
forces who mistook them for terrorists. Police forces at the scene canvassed the area and have launched an investigation.
The victims' families arrived at the memorial to find that burnt oil was spilled over the site, covering the names of the victims – Yehuda Ben Yosef and Yoav Doron. An Israeli flag was also destroyed.
Zero Tolerance
United Arab List-Ta'al offers legislation suggesting desecration of any synagogue, mosque or church will carry mandatory prison sentence of six years
"Every Friday we go up to the hill and pray as the sun rises," Ben Yosef's father, Attorney Baruch Ben Yosef, told Ynet.
"This morning we discovered that a black substance was spilled all over the stones. Later, when the police arrived, we realized it was burnt oil – which shows that whoever carried out the deed knew what they were doing as burnt oil gets absorbed by the stones and cannot be cleaned. We will have to rebuild the whole site."
'Knew what they were doing' - the memorial (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Ben Yosef noted that the family had previously requested that the IDF construct an enclosure around the site due to rain and strong winds. "We managed to reach all the way to the command chief but nothing came of it," he said, adding: "This isn't the first time the site has come under attack."
"Three years ago Arabs came and tried to steal the signs on a Friday night," said Ben Yosef. "The army saw them from their lookout point and they escaped the scene. The second time we planted trees against the wind and they were stolen a short time later."
"This is very painful for us but we won't be deterred," Ben Yosef added, speaking of Friday's incident. "We will not stop coming here and we will find a way to reconstruct the site. I'm happy that the police came immediately and took the issue seriously."
- Receive Ynetnews updates
directly to your desktop
