Brothers Hallel and Yagel Yaniv, who were killed in a terror attack in Samaria on Sunday, were laid to rest on Mount Herzl on Monday.
Mourners lined the road as their funeral procession made its way to Mount Herzl from the northern Samaria community of Har Bracha, waving Israeli flags.
“There are no words to describe such a disaster,” said Esti Yaniv, the victims’ mother. “Instead of taking children to the [marriage] chuppah, we bury them.”
Hallel, 21, and Yagel, 19, were shot at point-blank range by a Palestinian terrorist as they drove through the village of Huwara near where they lived.
The brothers’ father, Shalom, said, “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.”
Yossi Dagan, chairman of the Samaria Regional Council, referred to the riot in Huwara on Sunday night, in which a few hundred Jews reportedly set fire to Palestinian property and engaged in clashes with local Arabs. According to Palestinian sources, one Palestinian died after being shot in Za’tara, south of Huwara, though the circumstances of the incident and its connection to the riot in Huwara remain unclear.
“The role of IDF soldiers and only IDF soldiers is to avenge this death,” he said. “We will embrace this family, gather strength, and where they came to make darkness we will add light.”