Youssef had finished his three years of military service in an elite unit of the Border Police with distinction. For the Ottman family, one of Abu Ghosh’s four big clans, this was the second time terror had claimed the life of one of its members. His cousin was killed in an attack at shuk Mahane Yehuda in 1997.
The terrorist, who had a work permit for Har Adar, had joined the line of workers waiting to enter. When security forces had noticed suspicious behavior and ordered the terrorist to stop, he reached under his shirt, pulled out a handgun, and began to fire.
At Youssef’s funeral, his father spoke about him, saying how proud he was that Youssef defended the people of Har Adar, and how well he “got along with everyone in the village. Everyone loved him.” His father also said his son knew the terrorist who took his life, as he “knew all the workers.”
Youssef is survived by his parents, a brother, and a sister who had been married ten days before Youssef was murdered.