Amitai Yekutiel

Aug 4, 2002 - Yekutiel Amitai, 34, of Jerusalem was killed when a Palestinian terrorist opened fire with a pistol near the Damascus Gate of Jerusalem's Old City.

Yekutiel Amitai was a security guard for Bezeq, Israel's telecommunications company, guarding its maintenance workers when on jobs in dangerous areas. The technicians he was guarding had just completed a job in Jerusalem's Old City and were about to leave when a Palestinian gunman opened fire, killing him and wounding the driver. Border policemen exchanged fire with the gunman, killing him. Nizal Awassat, a bystander from the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood in East Jerusalem was killed in the exchange of fire.

Yekutiel was born in Kibbutz Sa'ad, in the Negev. His father, Haim, a farmer, immigrated to Israel from Afghanistan. Yekutiel completed his IDF service in the Golani Brigade in 1990, and settled in Jerusalem, where he was employed as a security guard, most recently for Bezeq. He was also studying special education.

Yekutiel was married just five months ago to Ricki, a new immigrant from France. His younger brother, Elisha, said, "He waited so many years to meet the right woman." His army colleagues describe him as someone "with leadership, responsible and fair, social and with a high work ethic."

Yekutiel Amitai was buried in Jerusalem. He is survived by his wife, his parents, two brothers and two sisters.