Cpl. Prosper Twito

Sept 9, 2003 - Cpl. Prosper Twito, 20, of Upper Nazareth was one of eight IDF soldiers killed in a suicide bombing at a hitchhiking post for soldiers outside a main entrance to the Tzrifin army base and Assaf Harofeh Hospital. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

The bomber wore civilian clothes and carried a leather bag containing a 3-4 kilogram bomb. He got out of a car at the hitchhiking post, and almost immediately blew himself up, murdering eight and wounding 30.

Twito graduated from the Yigal Allon High School, but opted to study communications for two more years at the Megadim ORT School before going into the army. He was part of the army's special academic deferrals program, under which he first completed a degree in communications engineering and then entered the army as a specialist.

About six weeks ago, he began a course in computerized quarter-mastering at the Tzrifin base, and only on the day of his death did he learn of his long-awaited acceptance into an officers course. He called his parents excitedly to tell them the news. "His commanding officer told me that he had a smile on his face the whole day long, and he was still smiling when I said goodbye to him," Twito's father, Ephraim, said in tears.

A friend, Yitzhak Zawi, related that Twito had dreamed of becoming a lawyer or studying psychology. "He was like a father to all of us," said Zawi. "He united us. We never thought of him as just a kid. Whatever we didn't understand, we'd go to him and he'd explain it to us. He'd solve all our problems."

Cpl. Prosper Twito was buried at the Upper Nazareth Military Cemetery. He is survived by his parents, Denise and Ephraim, two younger brothers and a sister.