Authorities expect 10,000 mourners at funeral of slain members of Salomon family

Local authorities say arrangements are underway for some 10,000 people to attend the funerals this afternoon of three members of the Salomon family, murdered Friday night by a Palestinian terrorist in the West Bank settlement of Halamish.

Yosef Salomon, 70, and his two children Chaya, 46, and Elad Salomon, 36, were stabbed to death in their home by 19-year-old Palestinian Omar al-Abed during a celebration of the birth of a grandson. Yosef’s wife, Tova, 68, was seriously wounded and taken to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem where she underwent surgery on Saturday morning and is currently recovering from her wounds.

The funeral will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Municipal Cemetery in Modi’in in central Israel where two of three surviving children live.

“Arrangements have been made on both the local and regional level for the expected arrival of 5,000-10,000 people,” says Jonny Cline, a member of the city council who holds the religious affairs portfolio responsible for management of cemeteries.

Police will be closing all access roads to the cemetery from Routes 1 and 443, and the Modi’in municipality will be providing shuttle buses from several sites in the city.

— Raoul Wootliff