The Tel Aviv municipality security guard who was killed by a terrorist on Saturday while patrolling the city has been hailed as a hero for potentially thwarting a much larger attack.
Video: Friends of Chen Amir near the hospital upon learning of his death / Noam Dabul Dvir
Late Saturday, officials from Ichilov Hospital identified the victim as 42-year-old Chen Amir. Police identified the terrorist as 27-year-old Kamel Abu Bakr, from a village near the flashpoint city of Jenin in the northern West Bank.
Amir, who leaves behind three girls and a wife, may have prevented a much larger terrorist attack by confronting the terrorist on Saturday afternoon while on patrol in central Tel Aviv on Montefiore Street. One potential target for the would-be attack could have been the massive protest against the proposed judicial reform, which takes place every Saturday in central Tel Aviv.
lsraeli police said that Amir and another officer noticed Bakr, and, believing he was acting suspiciously, approached him. They said Bakr then opened fire, gravely wounding Amir, who later succumbed to his wounds. After a short chase, the second guard shot the terrorist.
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Jenin's refugee camp last month was the site of the largest Israeli offensive in the West Bank in nearly two decades.
Both Amir and Bakr later died at Ichilov Hospital, according to hospital officials. Amir's family agreed to have his organs donated. An amateur video circulated online of Bakr vowing that armed resistance was "the only path." Israel's Shin Bet security agency said that Bakr had been wanted for the past six months. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai praised the Tel Aviv police for preventing a more serious attack.
"Our security forces will counter all those who seek to harm us," Netanyahu said in a statement Saturday night.
After the attack, police and civilians ran through the cafe-lined streets in the seaside metropolis as protesters nearby rallied for their 40th week of protests against Netanyahu's plan to overhaul the country's judiciary. Police said they would bolster their presence in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, and protest leaders said demonstrations would proceed normally.
The Palestinian terrorist groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad both issued statements praising the attack.
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