Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan and Havat Gilad community chairman Moshe Hachmon paid a condolence visit to the Ezra family, who are observing the customary week of mourning (shiva) at their home in Beit Dagan following the murder of Maj. Yuval Ezra, an Artillery Corps officer, in the terror attack near Havat Gilad.
During a lengthy meeting with Yuval's parents, his father, Haim Ezra, asked Dagan to convey a clear public message to the Israeli public calling for unity.
"We all need to increase our love for one another and lower the flames and the temperature. We are brothers. When there is hatred, enemies find an opening. We can be rivals, but under no circumstances can we become enemies," he said.
Dagan responded: "Meeting this remarkable family is deeply moving. It fills everyone who meets them with hope and the understanding that our people have a great future. Haim is absolutely right, and his message is so critical. We are living through a time when hatred is truly endangering the country. Love of Israel - that is our important mission - for the sake of the memory of those who fell, the heroes of Israel who gave their lives so that we could live here."
Despite their immense grief, the Ezra family also asked to emphasize their bond with the residents of Havat Gilad and to send their support to the family of Benayahu Melet, who was killed in the same attack.
"I came here to offer condolences and left strengthened by the extraordinary spirit of this special family," Dagan added.
Maj. Yuval Ezra was murdered alongside Benayahu Melet on Friday while defending a group of hikers during a terror attack. At his funeral, family members and his fiancée, Timor, remembered him as a beloved man, "a people person," with a constant smile and good heart, whose life was devoted to helping others.