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Russian-Born Israeli Undercover Agent Wins Honor
(JTA) Dan Baron - A Russian immigrant turned Israeli policeman has won Israel's second-highest military honor. Known only by his initial, Y., the commander of the border police undercover reconnaissance unit was awarded the Ribbon of Valor on Tuesday for a string of deadly counterterrorist missions in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The unit usually seeks out recruits among Sephardi Jews who can pass for Palestinians, and might seem an odd home for Y., the piano-playing son of Muscovite academics who immigrated to Israel when he was 16. But he now has two dozen confirmed "kills" of terrorist fugitives to his name. According to comrades, Y. is first to volunteer for the most dangerous missions in the grim alleyways of the refugee camps favored as hideouts by Palestinian gunmen. In one case cited by the Military Honors Commission, Y. and a comrade accepted a mission in the Tulkarm refugee camp and designed a motorized vehicle that could handle the camp's confined spaces. Once inside, Y. and his comrade found their target. When he resisted arrest, they shot him dead, waking up all the other gunmen in the camp. Y. used the commotion to his benefit, driving out at full speed and shouting "Army! Army!" in Arabic. The Palestinians thought the two were gunmen on the run from Israeli special forces and let them escape.