St.-Sgt. Yair Nisim Turgemann

Oct 19, 2004 - St.-Sgt. Yair Nisim Turgemann, 22, of Kiryat Arba, was killed at an IDF base near Mevo Dotan in Samaria when Palestinian gunmen opened fire from Palestinian territory west of the community. The Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the attack.

The shooting occurred shortly after 3:30 P.M., when Palestinians fired several shots at the Menashe Regional IDF Base, near the settlement of Mevo Dotan. Some of the bullets penetrated the tent where St.-Sgt. Yair Turgemann, from the Nahal Brigade, was sitting, hitting him in the chest. He was evacuated by helicopter to Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, but died about two hours later.

Yair grew up in Kiryat Arba, where he attended the local elementary school and yeshiva high school. Shmuel Zolotversky, a childhood friend, described him as a handsome, well-known figure in Kiryat Arba: "He was full of life, funny. He would always help friends in trouble. Yair loved life and was looking forward to completing his army service next August, when he planned to travel and see the world."

"The Turgeman family is greatly respected and loved, and has lived in the Harsina neighborhood for many years," Kiryat Arba Mayor Zvi Katzover said. Yair father is a lieutenant-colonel in the reserves, and his motheris an assistant kindergarten teacher.

St.-Sgt. Yair Nisim Turgemann was buried in the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem. He is survived by his parents, Ya'akov and Michal, three sisters - Keren, Tehila and Avital - and a brother, Pinhas.