Kidnapping of Nachshon Wachsman - Rescue Attempt

Rescue Attempt

In the meantime, the Israeli military had captured Jihad Yarmur, the driver of the car that had picked up Wachsman. After interrogating Yarmur, they learned that Wachsman was being held in a village called Bir Nabala, a location under Israeli control and only ten minutes away from his home in the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. Prime Minister Rabin authorized a military rescue attempt.

On Friday 14 October Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Yassar Arafat announced that they had won the Nobel Peace Prize. When asked his opinion on the "peace" that he had achieved in Oslo in light of Hamas' impending deadline, Peres responded that the peace process involves "calculated risks."

At 20:00 that night, at the hour of the ultimatum, the operation was to be carried out by Sayeret Matkal – an elite IDF commando unit. It was thought that Wachsman was being held behind an iron door, but in fact it was a solid steel door. As the commando team attempted to gain entry, it came under heavy fire by the group holding Wachsman hostage and the Sayeret Matkal team commander Nir Poraz was killed, and ten soldiers were wounded. The entry team returned fire and killed the three gunmen guarding Wachsman. Eventually the team was able to break through the door and enter the room, but they were too late, as Wachsman had already been killed. The Wachsman family was informed of his death personally by General Yoram Yair.