‘There are no words to describe such a disaster,’ says Esti Yaniv, mother of Hillel and Yagel Yaniv, at her sons’ funeral.

By: World Israel News Staff – worldisraelnews.com

The victims of Sunday afternoon’s deadly terrorist shooting attack in Samaria were laid to rest at a military cemetery in Jerusalem Monday, at a ceremony which drew thousands of mourners, including ten ministers and Knesset members.

Thousands of Israeli residents of Samaria turned out at intersections and junctions along Route 60 Monday ahead of the funeral, out of respect for the Yaniv family as they drove from their home in Har Bracha to the Mount Herzl military cemetery.

“There are no words to describe such a disaster,” Esti Yaniv, the mother of the two murdered brothers said ahead of the funeral. “Instead of taking children to the [marriage] chuppah, we bury them.”

Mourners, including Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionist Party), paid their last respects to 21-year-old Hillel Yaniv and his brother, 19-year-old Yagal Yaniv, at their funeral on Mount Herzl Monday afternoon.

Also in attendance were National Missions Minister Orit Strock (Religious Zionist Party), Aliyah and Absorption Minister Ofir Sofer (Religious Zionist Party), Construction and Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf (United Torah Judaism), and Health Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur (Shas).

Three Coalition MKs – Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionist Party), Amit Halevy (Likud) and Tally Gotliv (Likud) – and one Opposition MK Matan Kahana (National Unity) – were also present.

The two brothers were shot and killed after the terrorist rammed his car in their vehicle as they drove through the village of Huwara – which straddles Route 60. The terrorist then exited his vehicle, walked up to the brothers’ car, and fired at them at point-blank range.

“I really beg and plead that this will be the last such incident, and that all the children will be able to get married and have children and live happily and peacefully,” said Shalom Yaniv, the bereaved father.

The elder brother, Hillel, had recently completed his military service in the Israeli navy, and had returned to the Kiryat Shemona Hesder Yeshiva to continue his studies, while his younger brother, Yagel, was a student at the Givat Olga Hesder Yeshiva, and was preparing to be drafted into the IDF.

Uri Pinsky, chairman of the union of hesder yeshivas, eulogized the two slained brothers.

“The entire Jewish people has come together to pay their final respects to these two holy angels, Yagel and Hillel Yaniv.”

“They were hesder yeshiva students, men of great faith and values, and were always the first to volunteer for a task. They were outstanding in their Torah study, in their sweetness, and in their honesty, and in their love of Israel. We are all mourning together with their family, and we send them a big hug to strengthen them during these difficult moments.”

World Israel News also reported that Otzma Yehudit lawmaker Zvika Fogel told Army Radio Monday morning that he agreed with the settlers who rampaged the Palestinian village of Huwara Sunday night, hours after the deadly terrorist attack that claimed the lives of Hillel Menachem Yaniv, 22, and his brother Yagel Yaakov, 19.

Cars and homes were torched and a number of residents were hurt. During clashes that ensued, one Palestinian was killed.

“What residents of Judea and Samaria did last night in Huwara was to create the strongest deterrent the State of Israel has had since Defensive Shield,” Fogel said in the interview, referring to the 2002 IDF counterterrorism operation across the Palestinian Authority.

“After murders like those yesterday, when the army doesn’t take action, villages need to burn,” he said.

After the terror attack, residents of Huwara and the surrounding area handed out sweets in celebration of the murder of the Yaniv brothers.

“Huwara should be shuttered and burned. That is what I want to see. That is the only way we will attain deterrence,” Fogel said.

“If we stop settling, we won’t gain sovereignty,” he added.

“I want to restore security to the people of the State of Israel. How do we do that? We have to get rid of the word ‘proportional;’ we have to rid ourselves of the lack will to use collective punishment just because it isn’t fitting according to all sorts of courts. It’s time for the gloves to come off.”

Davidi Ben Zion, deputy head of the Samaria Regional Council, concurred.

“Here in Huwara the blood of our children was spilled on the road. Huwara needs to be wiped out today. Enough talk about building and strengthening the settlements. The deterrence that was lost must return now, there’s no room for mercy,” he tweeted.

National Security Minister and Otzma Yehudit party leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, however, condemned the vigilante response.

“The terrorists must be crushed, and it is time to return to the targeted threats and eliminate the leaders of the inciting terrorist organization, he said.  “I understand the pain, but we must not take the law into our own hands. The one who needs to deal with terrorism and deter it is the Israeli government and not the citizens.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog called on Israelis not to take the law into their own hands.

“The IDF and the security forces are currently in pursuit of the murderer. We will find him, we will capture him and we will come to terms with him,” Netanyahu said.

“I ask even when the blood is hot and the spirits are hot – not to take the law into your own hands. I ask to let the IDF and the security forces do their job. I remind you that in the last few weeks they have eliminated dozens of terrorists and prevented dozens of terrorist attacks. Let the IDF complete the pursuit, do not take the law into your hands – and together we will defeat terrorism.”

Sunday’s terror attack was carried out just hours after Israeli officials took part in an emergency summit in Aqaba, Jordan, aimed at lower tensions in the region. It was the second time within weeks that a family lost two sons in a terror attack.

(worldIsraelnews.com)

Eight-year-old Asher Paley and his six-year-old brother Yaakov were murdered along with newly-wed chassid Shlomo Alter Lederman by a terrorist who rammed into a bus stop in Jerusalem on February 10th. Another brother was lightly injured; their father was seriously hurt in the attack and remains in hospital.

(WorldIsraelNews.com)