Three of the seven victims of Friday’s terror attack in Jerusalem were laid to rest late Saturday night, as Israel mourned the deaths and grappled with soaring tensions and escalating violence with the Palestinians.
The shooting outside a synagogue in Jerusalem’s Neve Ya’akov neighborhood was the deadliest terrorist attack against Israelis in over a decade.
The youngest victim of the shooting, 14-year-old Asher Natan, was buried in the Jewish Cemetery on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
“I always wanted so much for things to be good for you. Now you’re in a good place for eternity,” his father, Aharon Natan, said at the ceremony.
“Asher didn’t die, he only parted from his body. His soul is eternal. The unity here is a giant embrace for us,” he said.
“I’m sorry that sometimes I hurt you and didn’t see the good in you,” he said to his son, according to the Ynet news site.
Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion said, “No one can describe the terrible pain of parents who have to bury their son but I want to tell them — Israel will always overcome.”
“We’ll do everything in order to not return to the terrible days when fear ruled the streets,” Lion said.
Eli and Natali Mizrahi, a married couple killed in the attack, were buried in the Derech Hachaim cemetery near the city of Beit Shemesh.
The other victims of the terror attack have been identified as Rafael Ben Eliyahu, 56; Shaul Hai, 68; Irina Korolova, 59; and Ilya Sosansky, 26.
The details of their funerals have not been released.