“I played sports ever since I was a child. I used to play soccer, but it was mainly basketball, as I have been blessed with the height of 1.95 meters,” said Saleh Shaheen, 41, a paralympic athlete from Shfaram.
Shaheen’s life began in a pretty typical fashion. He enlisted to the IDF in 2003 as a paratrooper and served as a commander too. After his mandatory service he proceeded to a course led by the Airports Authority and worked at the Karni Terminal on the border of the Gaza Strip as a security guard.
“Then, on January 13, 2005, my life changed in just one night.” Three terrorists from Hamas, the PFLP and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade penetrated the Karni Terminal that night using an explosive device in the wall, killing six civilians. “I arrived at the area of the explosion to fight the terrorists, but it was pitch dark, as electricity was down due to the explosion, leaving me exposed.
I faced the first terrorist, and we exchanged fire – he shot four bullets towards my left leg, also damaging my stomach and intestines,” Shaheen retold. “It was some pretty serious damage, though I didn't feel at all that I was injured. I shot, and the terrorist and I fell together.
Two other terrorists infiltrated, and the rest of the security guards arrived. There I was, a dead terrorist lying next to me, and a fire exchange between the guards and the terrorists taking place over my head. I managed with my last strength to crawl and make it to safety, where another Druze se.