Israeli Official, 1967 War Hero, Kills Himself

Deputy Defense Minister Mordechai Gur, a former army chief-of-staff and the general who led the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, killed himself on Sunday, weary of a long battle with cancer. He was 65.

Police said Gur shot himself in the head with his pistol in the garden of his home in Tel Aviv. He left a note saying he did not want to be a burden to his family.

Gur commanded paratroopers who captured the Old City, including the Western Wall and the ancient structure called the Temple Mount by Jews and Haram alSharif by Muslims, two of Judaism’s most revered sites. He is remembered for his dramatic cry over a crackling radio set: “The Temple Mount is in our hands!”