Hailed as heroes, victims of Har Adar terror attack buried
Thousands of mourners gathered on Tuesday afternoon to pay their final respects to the three Israelis who were killed by a Palestinian terrorist in the Jerusalem-area settlement of Har Adar earlier in the day.
Border policeman Solomon Gavriyah, 20, civilian security guards Youssef Ottman, 25, from Abu Ghosh and Or Arish, 25, a resident of Har Adar, were laid to rest in separate funerals.
Gavriyah was buried in his central Israel hometown of Beer Yaakov, in an emotional ceremony that saw several family members collapse from grief.
In Jerusalem, Arish was buried in the city’s Givat Shaul Cemetery, with the funeral closed to the press.
In the nearby Arab Israeli town of Abu Ghosh, hundreds attended the funeral for Ottman. The burial was held in both English and Arabic, and was attended by police officials, Knesset members, and town mayor Issa Jaber.
Gavriyah, who was posthumously promoted to staff-sergeant, had joined the Border Police for his mandatory national service and had recently been serving as a policeman in the Jerusalem seam area along the boundary with the West Bank.
The 20-year-old was mourned by his girlfriend as “the best person I knew.”
“You never complained. You were a warrior. A hero, my hero,” she said.
“Last night you fell asleep on the phone to me because you had guard duty in the morning. I couldn’t believe what I saw on the news this morning. No one ever taught me how to deal with this. I don’t know how to accept this. I can’t,” she said.
At the funeral, Gavriyah’s sister began a eulogy, but was forced to stop, overwhelmed by emotion. She was escorted away by family members.
“You were the pride of our family. You were an inspiration to all of us. I don’t know how we can go on without you,” she said through tears, before breaking down.
Read More: Times of Israel