Benayahu Mellet, killed in West Bank gunfight, laid to rest in military funeral

Benayahu Mellet, the civil defense squad member who was killed in a gunfight in a West Bank Palestinian village earlier today, is laid to rest in a military funeral in the settlement of Havat Gilad.

Coalition lawmakers and government ministers are present at the funeral, including Yitzhak Wasserlauf, Orit Strock, Ze’ev Elkin, Limor Son Har Melech and Amit Helvi, according to Hebrew media reports. Mellet receives a military burial because he is recognized as a fallen soldier.

Mellet, 32, was one of two Israelis to be killed in the clash, along with IDF officer Yuval Ezra, who will be laid to rest on Sunday. Four Palestinians were also killed in the clash.

At the funeral, Mellet’s widow, Esther, says they were together for 14 years that “ended in a moment.”

“You always leapt at being the first one to go anywhere,” she says in a eulogy, according to the Arutz 7 outlet. “This time as well, there was no question. It was clear to me that you were there.”

She adds, “I wasn’t worried when I saw the helicopters [responding to the clash], because you always came back. Just this time you didn’t come back at all.”

His father, Boaz, calls in his eulogy for Israel, in the final days of the current right-wing government’s term, to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, expand settlements in the West Bank, and establish settlements in Gaza and the strip of southern Lebanon controlled by the IDF.

“You have the opportunity to take advantage of this last minute to dismantle the terror group… the Palestinian Authority,” he says. “We know the danger here is great.”

He adds, “Benayahu worked, toiled, for the settlement of the land… I call to follow the path of Benayahu and our loved ones.”

At the funeral, attendees also chant “revenge.”