JERUSALEM—Batsheva Nagari, a 40-year-old preschool teacher and mother of three from the Judean town of Beit Hagai was laid to rest late Monday in Kfar Etzion. Afterwards, her 12-year-old daughter remembered her mother and recalled the drive-by terrorist shooting on Route 60 near Hebron. Israeli forces later apprehended two terrorists overnight in Hebron.
“Mom, I want to give you one last hug,” she said. “I will always miss you. You are in my heart. I know you are watching over me, even when I cannot see you and I am now safe. You were the happiest person I have ever known.”
The young girl said she and her mother were en route to Jerusalem to meet relatives and prepare the kindergarten her mother ran for the upcoming school year. “We were in Aryeh’s car and suddenly heard three gunshots,” she said. “The windows were completely shattered, and you were already asleep. I called the emergency service and told them we were shot at. My voice was shaking.”
The girl went on to describe how emergency teams treated her mother and how she hoped that all the good that her mother had always done would be repaid to her. “You always said your heart was open to everyone. Please Mom, look out for me and Dad and all of us. Don’t leave me. I envy the angels that now have you above, in heaven,” she said.
Families, friends and acquaintances recalled the warm spirit and immense generosity of Nagari, a native of Efrat. A relative described her as “a golden woman, full of giving”—a beloved kindergarten teacher who took in foster children, and provided them with a loving and stable environment.
Suspects Captured in Hebron
Israeli security forces said in a joint statement that they arrested two Palestinians overnight Monday on suspicion of involvement in the attack. The suspects were described as relatives from a Hebron family who did not resist arrest. The gun used in the attack was recovered, and the car used by the terrorists was found burned in the nearby town of Halhul.
The wounded driver, 39-year-old Aryeh Gottlieb, was taken to Soroka Hospital in Beersheva, where he is recovering from significant limb injuries. Authorities said the swift medical intervention by military medics at the scene was vital in saving his life.
Attack Follows Shooting on Saturday in Samaria
The shooting in Judea follows a terror attack on Saturday in Samaria, when Aviad Nir, 28, and his father Shai Silas Nigreker, 60, both from Ashdod, were the victims of a terrorist shooting in the Arab town of Huwara, the scene of other recent attacks, including one in which two yeshivah students were murdered earlier this year. A main highway runs through the town, connecting many Jewish towns in Samaria with Jerusalem and the nation’s south.
The father and son arrived at the town to fix their car’s air-conditioning. They then headed to a nearby car wash, where a terrorist approached on foot and opened fire on the two Israelis from close range with a handgun. The search for the terrorist remains ongoing.
“He would go to Huwara all the time,” said Nigreker’s wife, Rinat, at the funeral on Sunday. “He was not afraid; he would say, ‘Those are my friends there.’ I still can’t believe it. Next week was supposed to be our 20th anniversary. He loved to help people.”
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