"This scream of 'Save, save', it's heartbreaking, it's not something that should be heard, probably to someone who gets up in the morning and all he comes to do is go and pray," says Lt. Gen. Lior Cohen, Border Police Commander In it Eli Kay was murdered. "The evil heart you hear later that the goal is to harm the Jews because they are Jews it makes you very angry, in the end you realize that at the end there are humble, cowardly people who will stand up one morning and decide to harm the innocent, in our case Jews, "The most cowardly, in the back by surprise, when they are unarmed and are just wrapped in a tallit on the way to prayer, but then they will encounter a determined force who is not afraid, who strives for contact, who will chase after you because you are a coward and in the end will also neutralize you."
During this week's tour of the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, Cohen resents a conversation with Walla!
On the various publications regarding the circumstances that led the terrorist Fadi Abu Shahidam to carry out the attack earlier this week, "The allegations that the terrorist went out to carry out an attack because his wife left him, in my opinion someone is trying to refine the motives, the man got up and carried out an attack "Killing Jews, as if that is the connection. The man is a Hamas man, and there are all the motives known for his coming to carry out an attack. Such an organized, planned attack does not happen because his wife left him."
"Our presence here is important."
Border fighters in the Old City (Photo: Reuven Castro)
The 45-year-old Sen. Cohen has served for about 26 years in a variety of command positions at the border.
And for the past year and a half commander of the force in the Old City area.
"It is a space cell with the most forces and the most attention, everything here requires the approval of a senior echelon of the police and sometimes also of a political echelon," Cohen explains.
We go out to Hagai Street, the main axis in the Old City, and the street that connects the Nablus Gate to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, a street that became an explosive hotspot in the Muslim Quarter where several severe attacks took place. "Cohen explains and says," There is continuous traffic here throughout the day, and the peak on Fridays, at noon it is a movement of Muslim worshipers to the Temple Mount and in the evening there is a movement of Jews who go to pray at the Western Wall. "Our preparation is very high and we have very great attention. Almost everywhere we stop on the street, I can point, unfortunately, to a terrorist attack that took place there. Therefore, we are deployed here in an increasing way along the entire axis."
"We meet the border fighter, Little Sears, 20, at the hospice junction, where two fighters were stabbed last month." It is not obvious that Jews walk down the street and reach the Western Wall. See the memorial corners on the street.
It is a great satisfaction, the fact that a Jew can go here and perform his religious worship at the Western Wall, the Muslim who can perform his religious worship on the Temple Mount and Christians in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is not self-evident.
"We are here to regulate it and let it happen. You do not know where the next danger will come from, a week ago your friends were stabbed, and you always think where the next threat will come from. You are always alert that an event can erupt suddenly, from zero to a hundred."
"Almost everywhere we stop on the street I can point to an attack that took place there."
Sen. Cohen (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Sen. Cohen refers to the tense routine in the tense section, "You can go and there will be a pastoral atmosphere, crowds of tourists in the alleys, whether it is bar mitzvah events at the Western Wall, or Friday and holiday prayers in the Muslim Quarter and events in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Christian Quarter." The variety of religions. And in a sharp transition, from zero to a hundred, you can find yourself in a battlefield, of insane fighting, all the pastoralism disappears, and you fight over you or innocent civilians, and unfortunately for the rabbi, these are terrorist attacks against Jews. Then there are three or four hours of high tension, the level of alertness rises, but very quickly you return to routine. "
We are in the most visited place in the country and still, there are many people who are afraid to come here, what do you tell them?
"With apprehension I can not argue with people. But from what I see in the police is that it is impossible to come to terms with this situation. , There are cops here, and the evidence for this is that every event here ends in seconds, it's not something that lasts, eight seconds, or 30 seconds, within that time period it could be that people would get hurt and killed, God forbid, but if you analyze events and examine them what would happen if "It took another ten seconds or a minute, more people could have been hurt, and the quick response here is dramatic in the impact on the end of these events."
"There is beauty in the worship of all religions."
The Warriors in the City of Antiquity (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Are there any other means that can be used to thicken the security system here?
"There are a lot of means here, but the means is the best. emphasize attacking forces, some of them choosing them proactively, and some because they turned to them for review and then attacked the policeman. "
bomber Fadi Abu Shidm came here armed with live undisturbed, there are hundreds if not thousands of weapons in east Jerusalem that are within reach as far as you Are you preparing for this situation where you are no longer threatened by terrorists with knives but with live weapons?
"We will not reach an event where he was surprised and we will not be prepared for an escalation like a shooting. "
"The family is very proud that I serve in the border." Maya Edri (Photo: Reuven Castro)
The involvement of some of Western Israel's in nationalist events throughout the country during Operation Wall Guard caught the police without operational readiness to eradicate disturbances, what do you think?
Sen. Cohen: “The Guardian of the Walls was a round that came after the Corona period in which there was an optimistic sense, of solidarity, that everyone was coming under the same umbrella to fight the virus, and there was a combination of hands between the populations.
Because the operation was saving lives, the events of the Wall Guard shattered this euphoria and created a very big crisis, both what happened in front of Gaza and what happened here, it is not like yesterday and yesterday, and it is food for thought for everyone, Israel Police "And
why do you think the Nablus Gate has become such a significant symbol for the Palestinians?"
Cohen: "The Nablus Gate is not a symbol of anything. Someone wanted to inflate it and take it as a symbol. This place is just bustling in terms of the traffic of people coming to the Old City. "There are forces here, so if there is one terrorist or another, that is what he knows, there are forces here and here I will come to stab.
Border fighter, 20-year-old Yonatan Arava, describes the experience of serving in the Old City sector of Jerusalem. This is the routine tasks and of course in the unusual events we experience in the decree wave. I was privileged to serve here and bring the personal aspect, I wanted to influence as much as I can help. "In order to protect as much as possible, all in my life I have been guarded from every corner and it is time that I donate and give of myself."
"Give the 100%."
Iska Hadad (Photo: Reuven Castro)
Alexander Kushmerdov is a lone soldier from Moldova, and the only son of his parents, who also plan to immigrate to Israel. "They die of fear because I'm here but I told them, 'I can not leave this place.' ? ". On the attack and the daily confrontation, "It's hard, when the hazard passes in front of you and you did not notice or he did not suspect you at that moment it's hard, the feeling itself that you missed, as if the blood could be on your hands. We practice being alert all the time, you learn how to recognize A suspicious person. "
Border fighter Iska Hadad spoke about her feelings. "I have only been here for a week, last Tuesday there was an attack and then on Sunday another attack. I wanted to serve in Jerusalem because it is our capital, the holiest place for the Jewish people, whoever comes here, shows his militancy, because there are many wars here over these holy places. I came to protect the civilians and show that warriors also deal with these situations and give the 100% and that there is no difference between women and men. "
Her friend in the company, Maya Edri, said that" at first I was surprised. Because they say it's a hard and intense company, but little by little you realize that the work you do is significant. A lot of Jews and pedestrians pass through here on Hagai Street and I am here to secure them. " "The family is very proud that I serve in the border, but every time they see a report in the news about a terrorist attack in Jerusalem, they call to make sure everything is fine with me."
"Do not trust anyone."
Moshe Nissim (Photo: Reuven Castro)
According to border fighter Moshe Nissim, 30, who has served in the Old City for more than a decade.
Everyone who makes the rush is people who come from outside and heat up the area, like the terrorist who came this week, he is not tied to the mouth, it is a place that traps all kinds of people here to move the flames all over the country.
He did not know the terrorist Nissim, but his company friends later identified him, "The terrorist would come to the Temple Mount regularly, the police would see him here every morning, and do his regular route. We do not rely on acquaintances, do not trust anyone."
Sen. Cohen argues that getting to the Old City is safe but still requires vigilance on the part of visitors, "come to Jerusalem unequivocally, and come to the Western Wall, be urban yes, but you can be calm because there are deployed police forces, and border forces, to guard them. And we For that, but I expect them to be vigilant in the spirit of the time, and the spirit of the time right now is that we see a very big motivation to try and hurt, a very big incitement on social networks, we are on it, we will be deployed according to warnings and assessments, but to reach as much as possible, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel "Forever, we will always be here, we will always save and allow it."
