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Moshe Plesser, the off-duty soldier who shot and killed the terrorist on Wednesday(picture left), was riding his bike down Jaffa Road when he spotted the overturned bus and a massive bulldozer tearing through the streets of Jerusalem. Understanding that the Arab driver behind the wheel was in the midst of a terror rampage, Plesser, on a furlough from the Golani Brigade's elite Egoz unit, threw his bike to the side of the road and began chasing after the bulldozer.Speaking with reporters several hours after the attack, Plesser recalled the sequence of events that led to his courageous action on Wednesday. He is the brother-in-law of Capt. David Shapira, the IDF officer who stormed the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in March and killed the Arab terrorist who had massacred eight students in the religious seminary.As he began running towards the bulldozer, Plesser said that he shouted out to onlookers for a gun. Together with another civilian, Plesser climbed aboard the bulldozer and began wrestling with the driver."At one point he [the driver] yelled out "Allah Akhbar" [God is great] and stepped on the gas pedal," Plesser recalled. "I drew the weapon of the civilian who was with me and shot the driver three times in the head. I think I did what is expected from every soldier and citizen."Seconds later, a police officer, Eli Mizrahi, climbed aboard the bulldozer and shot the terrorist again, killing him.Plesser said that his brother-in-law David's heroic conduct in March served as a role model. Shapira, who lives across the street from Mercaz Harav, heard the late-night shooting, ran into the building where two police officers were standing, took one of their caps and ran inside and shot the terrorist."I thank God who gave me and my brother-in-law the strength to do what we did," he said, adding that his education in national-religious institutions and training in the elite Egoz unit served as the basis for his courageous conduct.The policeman, Mizrahi, later told reporters at the scene that he had acted "precisely as we were taught to do."Mizrahi said he had been on duty with his partner nearby when word of the attack came through and he sped to the scene on his motorbike.He saw a trail of smashed and crushed cars and wounded pedestrians, he said, cocked his gun and dashed toward the bulldozer in which the perpetrator was driving.An armed Israeli civilian fired first, Mizrahi said, referring to Plesser, but the tractor was still moving, "crushing a car and heading towards more civilians."So Mizrahi climbed up to the driver's cab. "I fired twice. And he was neutralized."Police Commissioner David Cohen praised the conduct of police, security forces and civilians at the scene, highlighting the "admirable determination" they had demonstrated in confronting the perpetrator and putting an end to the attack.By YAAKOV KATZ AND JERUSALEM POST STAFF
As in the days of Noah....
