Israeli Police Officers Commemorate Fallen Colleagues Two Years After Deadly Attack

Police officers from the Judea and Samaria (Shai) district held a moment of silence at 7:04 AM on Tuesday, exactly two years after a deadly shooting attack claimed the lives of three of their colleagues. The commemoration took place at all district stations and at the site of the attack near Tarqumiya on Highway 35.

Staff Captain Arik Ben Eliyahu, Sergeant Major (Res.) Adas Berenz, and Sergeant First Class Roni Shokuri were killed on September 1, 2024, while en route to their posts in the Judea region. The attack occurred on the morning of the school year's opening day.

Ben Eliyahu, 37, served as a regional training officer and lived in Kiryat Gat with his wife and three daughters. Berenz, 53, was head of an intelligence assessment desk and resided in Moshav Sde Moshe with her husband and three children. Shokuri, 61, worked in the vehicle workshop at the Hebron station. He lived in Sderot with his wife and three children. Shokuri had lost his daughter, Mor, who was killed on October 7 during the battle for the Sderot police station, just 11 months prior to his own death.

Commander of the Shai district, Superintendent Moshe Finchi, stated that the fallen officers are not just a memory but an integral part of the district's family and heritage. He noted that the officers stopped precisely at the time their lives were cut short to remember their fallen comrades who paid the ultimate price for their service. Finchi added that the district's officers continue to uphold their path and values.

In the past year, the Shai district established the ROA Unit, named after Roni, Adas, and Arik, which operates as a special operational unit to thwart hostile terrorist activities and criminal activity along the routes in Judea and Samaria.