This Day in Palestinians Resorting to Violence History: December 28 (Hikers)

On December 28, 2007, three frustrated Palestinian Arabs were riding in a jeep when they saw two Israeli men and a woman hiking. Ahikam Amihai (20) and David Rubin (21), both of Kiryat Arba were killed while the woman managed to hide behind a rock in the riverbed and escaped. Of the three Jews, Ahikam was especially known for his “love for hiking in Israel. Ahikam knew every spring, every path. He hiked throughout Israel at every opportunity, walking quickly, glancing for a moment at the map, sleeping and eating in the field. Thousands of photos carefully marked and placed in albums document these hikes.” One of the caves he investigated yielded a discovery of a new life form – something of a hybrid between a scorpion and shrimp.

The Palestinians were obviously upset at seeing the Israeli Jews walking in nature on what they perceived as purely Arab land with “their filthy feet.” The desecration was too much too bear, so they resorted to firing on the hikers with assault rifles.

*Hikers at the opening of a cave in Nahal Telem*

The three Arabs who killed the two young men acted on their own, even as Fatah, Islamic Jihad and Hamas all claimed responsibility for the attack. Such is the collective frustration of the Palestinian people at seeing Jews taking nature hikes with impunity.