First Sergeant Moshe Naftali of Ofra, who was killed in the terror attack on Route 12 near Eilat last August, received on Sunday a posthumous citation from the Head of Southern Command. The announcement about Naftali’s citation was made in late April. His family received the citation in his name.

Naftali killed two terrorists before he was murdered in the combined terror attack which claimed the lives of six other people.

First Sgt. Naftali, who was 22 when he was killed, was part of a Golani force that was sent to defend the bus that was the first target attacked by the terrorists after they infiltrated from Egypt.

“The citation is awarded to the team led by the late Sgt. Naftali, who quickly recovered and realized that the incident was a terror attack and strove for contact with the terrorists over and over,” Golani Brigade commander Ofek Buchris said during the special ceremony.

“The team turned the tables, and the late Sgt. Moshe Naftali symbolized the military ethos - the way the commander should operate on the ground,” added Buchris.

The Head of Southern Command, Major-General Tal Russo, said, “This event had tragic consequences; however, a more serious incident was prevented thanks to the striving for contact with the enemy by the late Sgt. Naftali. There is no doubt that his actions thwarted the terrorists’ plans.” (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 05/14/12)