ISRAEL HAYOM
by Efrat Forsher, Yori Yallon and Daniel Siryoti
November 19, 2014

Advanced Staff Sgt. Maj. Zidan Saif, 30, died in hospital Tuesday night, succumbing to critical injuries to his head suffered during a shootout with the terrorists who carried out Tuesday’s synagogue attack in the Har Nof neighborhood of Jerusalem. Saif is the fifth fatality in the attack.

He was among the first two police officers to arrive at the scene of the slaughter, and one of three policemen credited with quelling the attack and preventing further injuries and death. He and another traffic officer arrived first, followed by a forensics officer. The two traffic officers approached the entrance to the synagogue and carried out a gun battle with the two terrorists.

Professor Avi Rivkind, the director of the Trauma Unit at Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital told Israel Hayom that “the police officer was in critical condition, he was sedated and on a respirator in the neurosurgical intensive care unit.” Upon hearing of his injuries, Saif’s friends and family gathered at his family home in Yanuh-Jat to pray for his health.

Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Moafaq Tarif said that many Druze serve in the security forces and work on a daily basis to eliminate terror risks and to protect the country. “We are proud of our sons who fearlessly fight against terror attacks,” he said. “It is a black day for Israeli society and the state of Israel when citizens are murdered for being Jewish. The Druze people condemn this disgusting act of terror in which Palestinian terrorists slaughtered and massacred innocent citizens. We cannot allow the citizens of this country to be murdered on a daily basis.”…..

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