Funeral Services Conducted for Three Army Officers Killed by Mine

Funeral services were held at the military cemetery here today for three Army officers killed yesterday when their car hit a mine on a muddy road south of Beit Jubrin in the Hebron area. The victims were Col. Mordecai Nedivi, 47, commander of the Tel Aviv region; Maj. Mordecai Lustig, 42, of Tel Aviv and Lt. Baruch Rosen, 39, a reserve officer who was a lawyer in civilian life. Col. Nedivi was a son of Gen. Elimelech Avner Nedivi, one of the early Haganah commanders who later became one of the first generals in the Israel Army. He himself was a Haganah veteran and commanded a regiment during the Six-Day War. Four soldiers injured by the explosion have been hospitalized. Security forces are searching the area for evidence that would lead to the terrorists who planted the mine. Army experts said the fatal mine was of a water resistant plastic type that was apparently planted by terrorists in a mud puddle formed by the recent heavy rains.

A jeep that preceded the officers’ command car missed touching the mine but the driver of the command car was unable to see the device under a layer of mud and detonated it causing the fatal explosion. The road is one frequently used by military patrols and by tourists visiting the ancient site of Tel Maresha. A tragedy involving school children was narrowly averted when a bus driver, who didn’t like the looks of the muddy stretch of road, took a detour a half-hour before the mining incident. The bus was carrying school children on their annual outing to Tel Maresha. A Nablus military tribunal pronounced a life sentence on a terrorist ring leader today. The defendant, Abu Shaban, 27, was found guilty of membership in a terrorist organization, armed penetration into Israel and firing on Israeli forces.