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‘My heart is aching with pain and sorrow’: Grandparents of terror victims mourn loss but ‘will not be afraid’

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“We are in our 80s and have to bury our grandchildren, who were in their 20s,” says grandmother of brothers shot by terrorists at point-blank range.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

The grandparents of brothers Hillel and Yagel Yaniv, who were murdered on Sunday after a terrorist shot their vehicle at point-blank range in Huwara, spoke to Israeli media about the pain of burying their grandchildren.

Rabbi Shmuel and Yona Yaniv spoke to Channel 12 News about the tragedy, as well as their family’s history of military service and commitment to Israel.

“We are not a big family. This is a family of five children, and now there are three left,” Yona Yaniv told Channel 12. “We have a hole in our hearts from all this.”

“We are in our 80s and have to bury our grandchildren, who were in their 20s,” she added.

Rabbi Yaniv said that his family has been ultra-Zionist for generations. His father had been seriously wounded in the 1948 War of Independence, his brother was wounded in action, and another brother received a medal of honor after his service in the IDF, he said.

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“The worst thing that can happen to a nation is that it is afraid of its enemies and hides at home. Fear and anxiety are a disaster,” he told the Hebrew-language outlet. “God forbid that we should be afraid. We will not be afraid, in any way.”

Rabbi Yaniv said that although his “heart is aching with pain and sorrow,” the family is committed to remain in Judea and Samaria.

“We will be here. This is the Land of Israel. If we were not here, there would be missiles on us [in Israel’s interior] like Gaza,” he said.

Settlers “are heroes, they are on the front line,” he added.

“The war against the Arabs does not last one or two days, they will not stop if we give [up land] to them. We are realistic. We don’t want to commit suicide and certainly not to kill, we are good people, but this is our calling, to be here in this place.”