Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ami Cohen

Mar 18, 2003 - Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ami Cohen, 27, of Netanya was killed and another soldier wounded south of Bethlehem when Palestinians opened fire during a search for wanted terrorists.

An IDF force was searching a home in the village of Marah Rabah when the terrorists opened fire from one of the rooms. Ami Cohen was mortally wounded and died.

The terrorist killed by IDF forces in the exchange of fire was Ali Alaan, head of the Hamas military wing in the southern West Bank. More than 50 Israelis were killed in terror attacks orchestrated by Alaan, including the recent bus bombing in Haifa, and the bus bombings at the Patt junction and in the Kiryat Menachem neighborhood in Jerusalem.

Ami Cohen was born and raised in Netanya, the last of six siblings and twin brother to Tami. He was employed as a security guard at the American Embassy in Tel-Aviv and taught horseback riding. Although exempt from army reserve duty because of a back injury, he volunteered to join his unit of the IDF Givati Brigade during their reserve service. This was typical of Ami, who also volunteered to help the blind and in the civil guard. He was active in many charity organizations, for which he collected money.

He was planning to marry his girlfriend, Galit Cohen, whom he had met a year and a half ago. He had promised to come home on Tuesday and go to a Purim party with her. He was killed before dawn.

Sgt.-Maj. (res.) Ami Cohen was buried in the military cemetery in Netanya. He is survived by his parents and five siblings.