Those who follow Middle Eastern affairs likely remember the horrifying tragedy of the Fogel family in Itamar, Israel. In March of 2011, five members of the same family, including a sleeping baby, were murdered in their beds by Palestinian terrorists. In Gaza, they celebrated the “heroic” act by handing out sweets.
On Monday, an Israeli mother of two in the in the small town of Sde Avraham faced a similar situation, but forced a very different result.
Israel National News relates:
Yael Matzpun was sleeping in a room with her four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son when she was awoken by heavy footsteps in the hall. She knew that her husband, an IDF officer, was not due at home.
“Suddenly I saw a terrorist in a kefiyyeh [head scarf] standing opposite me,” she told Maariv. “I decided that if I didn’t fight, he would murder me and my four children, there would be a massacre like in Itamar, where the Fogels and three of their children were murdered in their home.”
The terrorist turned on the light and said something in Arabic, she recalled. He had a knife in one hand and a metal pipe in the other. Suddenly he lunged at Yael, stabbing her in the face and shoulder.
What the terrorist did not know is that Yael is an athlete trained in Krav Maga, Israeli military hand-to-hand combat. She used her skills to drive him back and into the bathroom, and locked him in. At the same time, she pushed her young children to safety.
Once the terrorist was locked away, she called for help. IDF forces arrived only to see the terrorist escaping through a bathroom window. They gave chase and attempted to arrest him, but were forced to open fire when he refused to drop his weapons. The terrorist was killed. [Emphasis added]
Sde Avraham is in southern Israel, near the border with Gaza. However, Yael’s father was not at all concerned about his daughter’s safety.
“The terrorist fell into the wrong woman’s hands, from his point of view,” he said proudly, according to Israel National News. “Even when she was a young girl, she would hug me like a vice… After she learned Krav Maga she was always able to take down thugs.”
Here’s an example of Krav Maga in action, via Krav Maga LA (skip to about 1:20)