Hadar Cohen, 19, was still in training when she was killed in Jerusalem Wednesday, but officials say she reacted like a veteran
A day after a Palestinian attack that left one female cadet dead and another seriously wounded, the Border Police is considering a new policy to stop stationing cadets at East Jerusalem’s Damascus Gate and other “hot zones.”
According to reports, Border Police top brass met on Thursday to discuss a possible policy change in light of Wednesday’s attack, and recommended that places most likely to attacked should only be staffed by veteran officers.
Until now, the standard Border Police policy was to embed cadets who had finished their basic training with veteran fighters in dangerous East Jerusalem locales to gain experience in the field.
Policewoman Hadar Cohen, 19, was killed and her colleague Ravit Mirilashvili was hospitalized with serious injuries after three Palestinians shot and stabbed them outside Damascus Gate in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Both Cohen and Mirilashvili were drafted into the Border Police only two months ago, and were still in training when the attack took place.
The policewomen were part of a three-person squad that spotted three Palestinians behaving in a suspicious manner and asked to see their identification papers.
As one attacker withdrew his ID card, the others opened fire and pulled out knives to attack the officers. The three were shot dead by officers at the scene.
Thursday’s recommendations came amid assessments that the conduct of the cadets was impeccable during the attack, despite their inexperience, and that they had, in fact, “exceeded expectations.”
Senior defense officials were even quoted as saying that “veteran fighters could not have reacted any better in the situation.”
As reported by The Times of Israel