Samer Fathi Afan

Nov 22, 2003 - Samer Fathi Afan, 25, of the Bedouin village of Uzeir near Nazareth, was one of two Israeli security guards shot dead at a construction site along the route of the security fence near Abu Dis in East Jerusalem.

The two guards, Samer Fathi Afan and Ilya Reiger, were sitting in a private, unarmored vehicle belonging to one of the guards, guarding equipment at the construction site, when gunmen opened fire at close range. Both were killed. A third guard went into shock when the gunmen opened fire and failed to return fire. The gunmen stole the guards' weapons and escaped. The Jenin Martyrs' Brigades, affiliated with Fatah, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Samer was the son of Sheikh Fathi Afan, Chairman of the Organization of Muslim Clerics in Israel. Samer had served in the Border Police, and was discharged four months ago. While waiting for a position to become available in the Israel Police, he found employment as a guard with the Tamnun security company. After working at the Haifa Central Bus Station, he transfered to the Jerusalem area just a week ago.

His father said his son had been well liked by all who knew him and that he enjoyed his job and got on well with his colleagues. "He liked people and liked his work... He was very nice, learned, polite, flexible, and always smiling. He was a good boy and now, sadly, he has been taken away from us so early," he said. Fathi Afan called on Palestinians and Israelis to put a stop to the bloodshed. "We need peace, we are hungry for peace and we want peace so that we can live together, us and the Palestinians, in peace," he said. "Enough blood has been spilled on both sides, the Palestinian and the Israeli peoples."

Samer was very close to his uncle, Ahmed Mazarib, killed in a terror attack almost two years ago. It was his uncle who helped him enlist in the Border Police. Samer's cousin Salem Afan said, "He was engaged just two months ago and dreamed of being a father."

Samer Fathi Afan was buried in Uzeir. He is survived by his parents and 12 brothers and sisters.