By Margot Dudkevitch
The Jerusalem Post
April 3, 2004

Ya'acov (Kobi) Zaga, 40, of Avnei Hefetz in Samaria, was murdered and his daughter Hanni, 14, suffered light-to-moderate gunshot wounds when a terrorist infiltrated the community shortly before 1 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Soldiers from the Nachshon Battalion shot and killed the terrorist, who was identified as Ramzi Arda, 18, of the Tulkarm refugee camp. Sources in the Shin Bet confirmed that Arda was released last week from a military prison, where he had been incarcerated for "less than a few months" for throwing firebombs and stones at soldiers and civilians

IDF officers said at least two men were involved in the attack, but only Arda infiltrated the community. The other man fled in a waiting car.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was in retaliation for the assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin two weeks ago.

Zaga was the first member of Avnei Hefetz to be killed since the outbreak of violence. He will be buried this morning at 10 in the Segula Cemetery in Petah Tikva, Hila Vinograd, the community's spokeswoman, said.

Hani Zaga underwent surgery at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba, and her condition was described as stable on Saturday.

IDF officers warned that attempts by terrorists to infiltrate communities in Judea and Samaria over Pessah will escalate.

"There were no specific warnings, but we identify an increase in threats by terrorists to infiltrate communities. The terrorists are highly motivated and we have taken the necessary steps and will reinforce our presence in the area during Pessah.

This is in addition to extra technology and of course intelligence," OC Ephraim district Col. Tamir Hayman, old reporters at a briefing at Nachshon Battalion headquarters outside Tulkarm on Saturday afternoon. "The terrorists came from the Tulkarm refugee camp. While the infrastructure in the city has been seriously hampered, all the organizations – Hamas and others – continue planning large-scale attacks and receive assistance from others in Nablus."

The last time terrorists infiltrated an Israeli community in Judea and Samaria was last September when two were murdered in Negohot in the southern Hebron Hills. Security officials noted that since the outbreak of violence, 21 infiltrations into communities in Judea and Samaria occurred during the weekend; 41 were murdered and more than 61 wounded.

On Saturday, the security establishment registered 58 terror warnings, the majority in Samaria. Shortly before 1 a.m., residents alerted soldiers at the base located next to the community that a girl had been wounded.

"Soldiers, backed by armored vehicles, entered the community and began searching for the terrorist. A member of the community's response team told them where the shooting was and soldiers went there and shot and killed the terrorist. The entire incident, from the time the terrorist entered the community until he was shot dead, lasted no more than 15 minutes," Hayman said.

According to Hayman at least two terrorists drove to a nearby village. "They parked their car and approaching the western side of Avnei Hefetz on foot. Then one of them left and the other entered in an area where there is no security fence," he said. "The terrorist reached a row of houses. The first two were dark, but he saw a light in the third house.

"He went around the back, kicked in the door of the utility room, and began shooting. Here we believe he wounded the daughter. The father went out the front of the house. He was armed with a gun and circled to the back of the house where he confronted the terrorist, who shot at him twice at point blank range, killing him."

Arda then ran to the next house and began shooting. He also fired shots at another house in the same row but failed to hit anyone. After that, he crossed over to another row of houses.

"He spotted a home where the lights were on, but no one was inside," Hayman said. "He broke down the door and threw a grenade, wounding himself. We know this from the blood we found on the porch. He then entered and searched for occupants, but the house was empty."

Arda was spotted by Cpl.Yossi and Cpl. Adir, who shot and killed him. Yossi said they approached the house, and Adir spotted him in the stairwell.
"His weapon jammed and he threw a grenade at us. We both took cover and shot and killed him ," he said.

After that additional forces began searching the community and the surrounding area, said Hayman. "All the exits to Tulkarm were sealed off, and we imposed a curfew on the nearby village where the terrorists left their car."

Shortly after daybreak, after failing to track down the second terrorist, the search was called off he said.

"The results are painful, but I believe that taking into account the terrain, the time frame in which the soldiers operated was acceptable. We will continue investigating and if we conclude that the lack of fence in the area where the terrorist entered was the main factor responsible, we will act quickly to ensure the fence is completed," Hayman said.

More than 180 families live in Avnei Hefetz, Vinograd said. The Zaga family moved there 12 years ago. Ya'acov worked as a comptroller for United Mizrahi Bank and his wife Esther is a psychologist for the Samaria Regional Council.

"They are a wonderful family, and have six children. Their eldest daughter Hani was wounded in the attack, and their youngest, a daughter, is four years old," she said. "Esther immigrated from Argentina as a student and has no family here."