Ariel Oseran
i24NEWS Middle East correspondent | @ariel_oseran
‘People, we are brothers. We love the country, we love the army, and we want security. The army is everyone’s, and we shouldn’t use it for anything political’
The parents of two brothers who were shot and killed in a terror attack the previous day talked on Monday about their anguish at burying their children, and called for Israelis to come together in the face of deepening tensions.
On Sunday, Hallel Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaniv, 19, were murdered while driving through Huwara, a Palestinian town in the West Bank. The funeral was scheduled at 2 p.m. in the Har Bracha settlement where they lived. They were set to be interred at the Jerusalem military cemetery on Mount Herzl.
“Words can’t describe this disaster,” their mother, Esti Yaniv, said at a press conference ahead of the funeral. “Instead of bringing children to the wedding canopy, we need to bury them.” She also called for unity among widening divisions: “People, we are brothers. We love the country, we love the army, and we want security. The army is everyone’s, and we shouldn’t use it for anything political.”
Their father, Shalom, added: “I plead that this is the last such incident. That all the children can marry, have children and build homes.”
Rachel Yaniv, the victims’ sister, stated: “We are trying to accept with love the hard news that God gave us yesterday. This is hard, and this hurts. We are going through not-so-simple times. But we are strong, and the Jewish people have gone through so many other difficult things. I am sure we will be able to bear it.”
