St.-Sgt. Ala Hubeishi

Mar 14, 2002 - St.-Sgt. Ala Hubeishi, 21, of Julis was one of three soldiers killed when a tank escorting a civilian convoy drove over a land mine exploded on the Karni-Netzarim road in the Gaza Strip.

At 6:30 AM, an army tracker was walking in front of two tanks, with a unit of Givati Brigade soldiers on foot in the rear, to secure the road leading from nearby Netzarim, when the mine exploded underneath one of the tanks. The terrorists are believed to have hid behind a mosque near the roadside and detonated the mine by remote control. The explosion, which set the tank on fire, killed one of the tank crew instantly; the two other crew members were burned to death. The tank commander and t

Just a month earlier, on February 14, St.-Sgt. Ala Hubeishi, the driver of the tank crew hit by a similar mine, was saved - he was home in the Druze village of Julis in the Galilee, to celebrate the Feast of the Sacrifice.

"He was a great person. His death is a tragic loss to all of us," said Ala's uncle. "He enjoyed his army service in the army, and he planned to become a tank commander."

St.-Sgt. Ala Hubeishi was buried in Julis. He is survived by his parents, Farid and Nazira, three brothers and a sister.