The monument for Sgt. Saleh Kasem Tafesh, a Druze soldier who fell in south Lebanon in 1992 and became a symbol for bravery, was found riddled with bullet holes. The monument, which is located in the Upper Galilee, suffered heavy damage.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The Israel Police have opened an investigation, but do not have any suspects at this moment.

Sergeant Tafesh and the defaced monument (Photo: Gil Nechushtan)

Lutfe Tafesh, the late Saleh's brother, said: "This is a crime of the outmost severity. They have hurt the deceased and us. We never expected something like this to happen. We don't yet know why he carried out this heinous crime, but I hope the police will find and arrest the shooter. We want to know why they did it."

According to him, his family members are having difficulties coming to grips with what happened.





Tafesh's monument (Photo: Nazia Kablan)

Taesh was a 21-year-old medic who fell in battle after trying to help Lt. Col. (res.) Aviel Jarafi ion April 6, 1992, when their convoy was hit near Hula village in South Lebanon. The convoy was making its way south when terrorists opened fire on them. Jarafi was then badly wounded, and Tafesh ran to aid him.

The convoy was then bombarded by heavy gun fire, mortars and RPGs, and Jafari, worried for Tafesh's life, tried pushing him away so he could save himself, but Tafesh insisted and kept bandaging his wounds. While trying to apply a tourniquet to his leg, Tafesh was hit in the head by a bullet and killed. He received posthumous decorations for his bravery in battle.