JERUSALEM, Israel – An elite Israeli counterterrorism commando was laid to rest on Sunday after he was killed during an arrest raid in the West Bank – biblical Judea and Samaria.
According to Israeli authorities, Sgt. Maj. Noam Raz, 47, was shot by Palestinian terror suspects during an arrest raid in the town of Burqin.
Hundreds attended Raz’s funeral at the Mount Herzl National Cemetery in Jerusalem. He leaves behind his wife, Efrat, and their six children.
“I’m grateful for getting the chance to know you, and thank you for choosing me to be your wife,” Efrat said at his funeral. “In your life, you gave everything for the people of Israel, so today they came to say ‘thank you.’”
Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai called Raz a “hero in his life and a hero in his death.”
Raz’s death comes as Israeli forces carry out regular arrest raids against suspected terrorists in the West Bank. Israel has faced a recent wave of Palestinian terror attacks that have killed 19 people.
On Sunday, Israel Police said they arrested a Palestinian man carrying an axe and suicide note saying that he was planning to carry out a terror attack in the West Bank. He was taken in for questioning.
Israeli security forces also said they arrested nine Palestinians suspected on terrorist activity overnight.
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