Eliraz Peretz, RIP

Eliraz Peretz, RIP

The deputy commander of the Golani forces in Hebron at the time of my visit last year was Eliraz Peretz, 32, father of four. He was killed in action yesterday, alongside one of his soldiers, Ilan Sabiatkovski, 21. Eliraz was the brother of Lieutenant Uriel Peretz, killed in action in 1998, and next door neighbor of Major Roi Klein, who was killed when he threw himself on a live grenade to save his troops during the Lebanon war is 2006.

Talking about an incident in Hebron, he told a reporter

"This isn't a simple situation," he said later, "the soldiers need to protect the Jewish settlers and the Palestinian citizens at the same time. Keep calm and collected, and, above all, keep from getting used to things, since the whole place can light up in an instant."

"It may not be natural for soldiers who trained to storm at targets, but this is also one of our missions," he said.

Originally posted by Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations