Orit Hayla

Jun 18, 2002 - Orit Hayla, 21, of Jerusalem, was one of 19 people killed in a suicide bombing at the Patt junction in Egged bus no. 32A traveling from Gilo to the center of Jerusalem.

The terrorist boarded the bus at 7:50 A.M. at the stop in Beit Safafa, an Arab neighborhood opposite Gilo, and almost immediately detonated the large bomb which he carried in a bag stuffed with ball bearings. The blast destroyed the front half of the bus, packed with people on their way to work and schoolchildren. Of the 19 victims, 17 were residents of the Gilo neighborhood; 74 people were injured.

Orit Hayla immigrated to Israel with her family from Ethiopia when she was four years old. Her family settled in Ashkelon. After finishing her studies at the Washington Hill high school near Ashdod, she did national service, and then went to study at Midreshet Atarot in Jerusalem. She lived in Gilo with a friend, and worked as a saleswoman.

Her brother Carmel said, "Orit was so happy. She wanted to study, she had plans. She loved Jerusalem and wanted to live there."

Orit Hayla was buried in Ashkelon. She is survived by her parents, Varda and Daniel, four brothers and a sister.