St.-Sgt. Yosef (Yossi) Atia

Jan 7, 2005 - St.-Sgt. Yosef Atia, 21, of Petah Tikva, was killed and three other off-duty soldiers were wounded when their car was ambushed by Palestinian gunmen on the Trans-Samaria Highway on Friday afternoon. Fatah's al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

St-Sgt. Yosef Atia and his three friends were on their way to spend Shabbat in Ma'aleh Efraim at a pre-military training academy they had attended before being drafted. Security officials said that more than 30 bullets had hit their car. Moments earlier, the terrorists had fired on another car, lightly wounding an Israeli civilian.

Yossi had just celebrated his 21st birthday three days before. "He was such a handsome boy, with golden curls," his sister, Dikla, related. "The girls admired him - he was always smiling; a muscular, strong guy. He always told everyone that there was nothing to worry about and that he'd come home safely."

Atia studied in the Nehalim Yeshiva and then at the academy in Ma'aleh Efraim before joining the army. He had served as a medic for 18 months in a reconnaissance company of the Paratroopers Brigade, after completing the combat medics course with distinction.

St.-Sgt. Yosef Atia was buried at the Segula Military Cemetery in Petah Tikva. He is survived by his parents, David and Rahel, and siblings Idit, Galit, Victor, and Dikla.