Government representatives were conspicuously absent as mourners accompanied terrorist victims Avichai Levi, 17, of Beit Haggai, and Aviad Mantzur, 16, of Otniel to the Mount of Olives cemetery. Politicians were at the burial ceremony, but no representatives traveled to the homes of the slain boys to speak at the beginning of the funeral processions. No mention of the attack, nor of sanctions to be taken against the PA, was made in the Cabinet Communique following Sunday's weekly government meeting.
The attack occurred late Friday afternoon as the two slain boys and two other friends were waiting for a ride outside the community of Beit Haggai. Avichai, who studied at the Kiryat Arba high school, was shot in the head and died on the spot. Aviad, a student at the Susia Yeshiva High School in southern Judea, died of his wounds early Sunday morning. They were murdered by Arab terrorists from the Hevron area, who made a U-turn after passing them in order perpetrate the attack.
Several hundred friends and neighbors crowded in and around the families' houses. Hevron Brigade Commander Lt.-Col. Moti Baruch, who attended both eulogies, said Saturday that the terrorists succeeded in their mission of terror because the army had lifted travel restrictions on Hevron Arabs as "good will" measures.
Chava Levi, mother of Avichai, said in her eulogy for her son, "I am afraid what the evacuation will do to the people of Israel more than I am afraid of the evacuation itself. Mr. Prime Minister, you said that the Nation of Israel lives on, and its strength lies in its unity... Avichai, ask up there, for your mother, that the Al-mighty guard the people of Israel, that there not be, Heaven forbid, division and civil war. I am at ease because I know you did not go to Heaven in vain. I am prepared to pay the price because I know you completed your mission here and you are prepared for your mission in heaven."
Avichai's funeral procession stopped in Jerusalem at the residence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Southern Hevron Hills Regional Council leader Tzviki Bar-Chai noted the Torah portion read this week, and said, "The scouts sent to survey the Land of Israel were told to see if the populace was living in open camps - a sign of confidence and strength - or whether they were in fortresses, signifying their fear and weakness. But when they returned, with no spirit and with bad things to say about the Land, they said that the cities were like fortresses - as if this were a sign of strength! Because the leaders were in a state of blindness and loss of direction, [they see things backwards]. Mr. Prime Minister, you are suffering from the same syndrome: When you say that running away under fire will lead to security - you have lost your way and your direction."
"Mr. Prime Minister," Bar-Chai continued, "you sent the best of [our] people to Beit Haggai and Otniel, to Homesh and Sa-Nur, to Kfar Darom and Netzarim. You are no longer worthy of leading. You have abandoned us under enemy fire. You have not learned what is true leadership spirit... We vow to continue to the struggle that will open up the people's eyes."
Ariel Lifshitz said at the eulogies for his classmate Aviad, "We are confused. We don’t understand that you, Aviad, are not with us." Aviad, the oldest of five children, was very active in the Bnei Akiva youth movement and was respected as a very serious student who was always smiling and full of happiness.
The Mantzur family home often served as an open house for friends and relatives of terror victims. Other residents of both Otniel and Beit Haggai have been murdered in the past by Arab terrorists.
The Levy family asked that participants in the funeral process wear orange, in solidarity with the struggle to prevent the withdrawal from Gush Katif. Many in the crowd in fact wore orange shirts and waved orange flags. Avichai himself was wearing, when he was killed, a Gush Katif sticker on his shirt reading, "With Love, We Will Win."
An estimated 1,000 people took part in Avichai's funeral. The rabbi of Beit Haggai, Rabbi Moshe Eliezer Rabinovitch, addressed part of his eulogy towards the army, asking, "Who gave you permission to abandon the lives of your brothers?" He was referring to recent army decisions to remove checkpoints and allow unrestricted Arab traffic in the area. Other participants were less diplomatic, calling out to Lt.-Col. Mot Baruch, "You are murderers! You allowed the roads to be opened, you should be lying under the ground instead of Avichai! How much longer will there be such lack of concern for human life?"
The funeral of Aviad Mantzur, who was also killed in the attack, set off later in the afternoon from Otniel, and made its way to Jerusalem.