Lance Cpl. Keren Franco

Apr 10, 2002 - Border Police Lance Cpl. Keren Franco, 18, of Kiryat Yam was one of eight people killed in a suicide bombing on Egged bus #960, en route from Haifa to Jerusalem, which exploded near Kibbutz Yagur, east of Haifa.

The express route bus had left the new Haifa Bay bus station at 7:00 AM. The suicide bomber, from the Jenin refugee camp, boarded the bus wearing IDF fatigues and carrying an army conscript bag in order to avoid drawing attention. Just after passing the Yagur junction, he detonated his explosives belt, killing 8 and wounding 22.

Like her friend Noa Shlomo, Keren Franco had chosen to join the Border Police when drafted four months ago, and only last week finished her training. Her first posting was at the Allenby Bridge on the Jordanian border. She was on her way there when both girls were killed.

Her parents, Chaim and Yochi, had been trying to have a child for seven years when Keren - "ray of light" in Hebrew - was born. Keren graduated from the Rodman high school with honors.

Her younger sister Orit, 17, related that Keren loved movies and dreamt of writing a book.

Border Police Lance Cpl. Keren Franco was buried in the Tzur Shalom cemetery. She is survived by her parents and her younger sister, Orit.