Thousands of people took part in the seven-hour funeral procession yesterday of terrorist victim Gilad Zar. During the funeral, which began in Jerusalem outside the Prime Minister\'s Office, shots were fired towards the convoy of mourners from an Arab village near Shechem. IDF soldiers returned fire, including tank shells, towards the sources of fire.
Zar was the security officer of the Shomron Regional Council. Gilad\'s father Moshe is one of the earliest setters in the Shomron, and had much to do with Jewish purchase of land in the area; three of his children and their families live in Hevron. In addition to eulogies by government ministers Ze\'evi and Lieberman, the government was officially represented by Minister Tzippy Livni. Her speech in the Karnei Shomron cemetery was interrupted by Zar family members demanding an end to the unilateral ceasefire and to \"start fighting!\" The family will be sitting shiva [the traditional mourning week] in the Zar family home on the hilltop Mitzpeh Tzva\'im outside Karnei Shomron.
Cities of Israel, a sponsor of grassroot activities on behalf of the Land of Israel, reports that its members from all over the country joined the funeral procession of Gilad Zar \"out of solidarity for the famous Zar family and what it stands for.\" In Rehovot\'s hi-tech industrial park, a municipal road dedication ceremony was interrupted when demonstrators took center stage and unfurled a handmade placard deploring Israel\'s cease-fire policy, in full view of the audience. The drama was thick as Rehovot Mayor Shuki Forer (Likud), who had been in the middle of his address, remained speechless as he and the audience read the sign, \"Gilad Zar! The State of Israel apologizes for not defending you!\" When policemen rushed up to the demonstrators and ordered them to leave, Mayor Forer came to their defense and declared, \"We are with you!\" The ceremony proceeded, with the demonstrators and placard remaining in place throughout. Special guest Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about Israel\'s natural bonds with the Land of Israel: \"It is time for us to tell our children, and the whole world, that Eretz Yisrael belongs to us,\" he concluded.
Zar was the security officer of the Shomron Regional Council. Gilad\'s father Moshe is one of the earliest setters in the Shomron, and had much to do with Jewish purchase of land in the area; three of his children and their families live in Hevron. In addition to eulogies by government ministers Ze\'evi and Lieberman, the government was officially represented by Minister Tzippy Livni. Her speech in the Karnei Shomron cemetery was interrupted by Zar family members demanding an end to the unilateral ceasefire and to \"start fighting!\" The family will be sitting shiva [the traditional mourning week] in the Zar family home on the hilltop Mitzpeh Tzva\'im outside Karnei Shomron.
Cities of Israel, a sponsor of grassroot activities on behalf of the Land of Israel, reports that its members from all over the country joined the funeral procession of Gilad Zar \"out of solidarity for the famous Zar family and what it stands for.\" In Rehovot\'s hi-tech industrial park, a municipal road dedication ceremony was interrupted when demonstrators took center stage and unfurled a handmade placard deploring Israel\'s cease-fire policy, in full view of the audience. The drama was thick as Rehovot Mayor Shuki Forer (Likud), who had been in the middle of his address, remained speechless as he and the audience read the sign, \"Gilad Zar! The State of Israel apologizes for not defending you!\" When policemen rushed up to the demonstrators and ordered them to leave, Mayor Forer came to their defense and declared, \"We are with you!\" The ceremony proceeded, with the demonstrators and placard remaining in place throughout. Special guest Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about Israel\'s natural bonds with the Land of Israel: \"It is time for us to tell our children, and the whole world, that Eretz Yisrael belongs to us,\" he concluded.