Defense Minister Liberman
Defense Minister LibermanFlash 90

In response to last night's murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach, Defense Miniser Avigdor Liberman, in a statement issued this morning, said he had ordered his office to look into legalizing Havat Gilad.

“Security forces are pursuing the terrorists who murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevach, may God avenge his blood. I feel the pain and sorrow of his wife Yael and his six children. I have instructed the heads of the Defense Ministry to assist the family and the residents of Havat Gilad. I have also ordered an examination of the possibility of legalizing Havat Gilad and making it a community among the other settlements in Judea and Samaria,” the statement said.

Havat Gilad was established in 2002 in memory of Gilad Zar, security coordinator of the Shomron Regional Council, who was killed in a terror attack. Dozens of families live in the farm, but none of the homes have permits. Many of the buildings at the outpost have been demolished by the army only to be rebuilt.

Hundreds of people gathered at Gilad Farms this afternoon for the funeral and burial of Shevach. His widow said it was his wish to be buried on the hilltop.

“We decided, together as a family, to bury him in the place he had dedicated himself to,” Yael Shevach said. “Raziel said that if something was ever to happen to him, he wanted to be buried in Havat Gilad. We respect his wishes and will bury him in the settlement he loved so much.”

The burial, while approved by the Samaria Regional Council, was not officially approved by the IDF or the government, according to reports.

Meanwhile, the IDF expanded its search for the killer or killers, including setting up roadblocks and checkpoints and entering PA villages in the area to search for the gunman or his weapons.