Abduction and killing of Nachshon Wachsman

He was last seen by a friend who reported that, after completing the training, Wachsman had been dropped off at the Bnei Atarot junction, a densely populated area in central Israel, where he could either catch a bus or hitchhike, a common practice of Israeli soldiers,[2] to Jerusalem.

[3] Israeli intelligence learned that Wachsman entered a car in which there were Hamas militants wearing kippot, who had a Tanakh and siddur on the dashboard, and Chassidic music playing.

If their demands are not met, they will execute me on Friday at 8 P.M."[3]Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was Hamas leader at the time and had been imprisoned by Israel since 1989.

[6] Eventually the Israeli secret police, Shin Bet, captured Jihad Yarmur, the driver of the car that had picked up Wachsman.

[3] At 20:00 that night, at the hour of the ultimatum, elite IDF commandos from the Sayeret Matkal special forces unit carried out an operation to free Wachsman.

The commandos immediately lost the element of surprise, giving Wachsman's captors inside time to shoot him dead and position themselves for the impending firefight.

[8] In a news conference a few hours after the failed rescue attempt, Rabin, who had authorized it, took full responsibility for it and sent his condolences to the Wachsman and Poraz families.

"Environment Minister Yossi Sarid, referring to the PAs crackdown on Hamas, commented that "in the last few days the Palestinian Authority in Gaza has made considerable efforts."

Even Israeli hawks such as Gideon Ezra admitted to being impressed by Palestinian Security Chief Jibril Rajoub even as he remained wary of him.

[10] Sergeant Nachshon Mordechai Wachsman (Hebrew: נחשון מרדכי וקסמן, born April 3, 1975, died October 14, 1994) was an IDF soldier who was abducted and held hostage by Hamas for a period of 6 days.

'"[4] Today "Beit Nachshon" at the SHALVA Center in Jerusalem, an association for mentally and physically challenged children, is dedicated to Wachsman's memory.