Sgt. (Res.) Michael Sitbon

Dec 25, 2001 - Sgt. (Res.) Michael Sitbon, 23, of Beit Shemesh was killed in a shooting attack Tuesday morning near the Jordanian border north of Beit She'an.

At about 6:45 A.M., an IDF force was on a routine patrol along the Jordan River, north of Beit She'an, looking for signs of infiltrators or bombs. Near Moshav Yardena, the soldiers suddenly came under fire. The unit's tracker was seriously injured, and the commander was lightly injured. The soldiers returned fire and evacuated the tracker for medical treatment.

IDF forces later returned to search for the terrorists, and were hit by rifle fire and hand grenades. IDF reserve Sgt. Michael Sitbon was killed and two soldiers were wounded before the two gunmen were killed. Hunting rifles equipped with silencers and telescopic sights were found alongside the bodies of the gunmen located in the bushes near the river.

Michael, the oldest of four children, immigrated to Israel with his parents from France when he was a year old. He attended yeshiva near his home town of Ashdod, and later attended Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem. Following his army service as a Givati Brigade medic, he was pursuing a degree in education at Lifshitz College. He married Michal two years ago and they settled in Beit Shemesh.

Sitbon was doing his first tour of reserve duty since completing his mandatory service. After the initial shooting incident, he phoned his wife to tell her that he had treated the injured soldier but was all right. He was killed shortly afterwards.

Sgt. (Res.) Michael Sitbon is survived by his wife, Michal, his parents, two brothers and a sister. He was buried in the military cemetery in Ashdod.

Moshe Gutman was buried in Jerusalem. He is survived by his wife Pnina and nine children.