Yael Sorek

Jun 8, 2002 - Yael Sorek, 24, of Carmei Tzur and her husband Eyal were killed when terrorists infiltrated the community of Carmei Tzur south of Bethlehem on Friday night.

Two terrorists infiltrated the settlement, located in the southern Gush Etzion region, before dawn. Two soldiers from an artillery unit, still in basic training, identified the intruders, and demanded that they stop. The terrorists opened fire on them. Eyal Sorek was shot and killed when he left his caravan, holding a firearm. His wife Yael, who was nine months pregnant, was shot dead in the caravan. The caravan homes were set up at the site more than a year ago. The neighborhood is named after Dr. Shmuel Gillis, a Carmei Tzur resident who was killed in a shooting attack on February 1, 2001.

Reservists who arrived on the scene and killed the terrorist who had murdered the Sorek couple. One reserve officer, St.-Sgt.-Maj. Shalom Mordechai, was mortally wounded in the gunfight and another three IDF reservists and two settlers, were injured.

Yael, 24, the fourth of Yehuda and Elisheva Kandel's five children, was their only daughter. She grew upin the religious moshav of Kfar Pines, near Pardes Hannah. She did national service for two years, and studied teaching at the Efrata College.

Eyal and Yael Sorek had been married for a year and a half and were expecting their first child. They had moved to Carmei Tzur about ten months ago. Yael was planning to be a teacher.

Yael Sorek was buried on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. She is survived by her parents, Yehuda and Elisheva Kandel, and her four brothers: Shai, 31, who lives with his family in Carmei Tzur; Ofer, 29; Nachshon, 26; and Kobi, 21.