Hundreds gather for funeral of IDF lone-soldier terror victim

Sgt. Maksym Molchanov made aliyah from Ukraine in 2017.

By JNS

Hundreds gathered on Tuesday at the Kiryat Shaul Military Cemetery in Tel Aviv for the funeral of Israel Defense Forces Sgt. Maksym Molchanov, who was murdered near Modi’in last week by a Palestinian terrorist.

Molchanov, 20, made aliyah from eastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv in 2017. His parents flew into Israel from the war-torn European country on Monday night.

The Foreign Ministry reportedly helped to facilitate the bereaved father’s travel given the ban on men leaving Ukraine amid the Russian invasion.

Six other persons, including three soldiers, were wounded on Aug. 31 when a Palestinian terrorist drove into them with a truck at the Maccabim Crossing along Route 443.

The terrorist fled the scene but was tracked down and “neutralized” at the Hashmonaim Crossing some 10 kilometers (6 miles) away, according to the Israel Police.

The Defense Ministry said its security guards operating the Hashmonaim checkpoint received a description of the terrorist’s truck from the IDF moments after the attack, and subsequently opened fire at the vehicle after identifying the assailant.

He was later identified as Daoud Abdel Razeq Fayez from the Palestinian village of Deir Ammar, near Ramallah.