Staff Sergeant Ronen Lubarsky was the first soldier from the elite Duvdevan unit to be killed in conflict with the Palestinians since the unit was established 32 years ago. The other 17 casualties were killed by friendly fire and accidents. On May 24, in the course of arresting wanted men in a refugee camp near Ramallah, in Area A, where the Palestinian Authority (PA) holds security responsibility, a heavy marble slab was dropped on Lubarsky, and he was fatally injured.
Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman said in his eulogy, “Duvdevan, one of our elite units, makes many arrests every night in an incessant war, which has no glory and no publicity.” Other government representatives spoke of how essential these operations are for defending Israel’s security.