Paris terror victims to be buried in Jerusalem today

Expecting thousands of mourners to attend funerals, police say security preparations have been completed to oversee procession, ensure safety.

By TOVAH LAZAROFF, DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Bodies of Paris kosher supermarket victims arrive in Israel
The four Jewish terror victims who were killed during a hostage standoff at a kosher supermarket in Paris last week, will be buried on Tuesday in Jerusalem's Har Hamenuchot cemetery. The state ceremony will include speeches from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin.
The bodies of the victims Yoav Hattab, 21, Yohan Cohen, 20, Philippe Braham, 40, Francois-Michel Saada, 64, arrived in Israel on a pre-dawn flight from France.
Their coffins were then driven to the cemetery’s large parking lot where the ceremony is scheduled to take place around noon.
Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef will open the funeral by reading from the Book of Psalms. The victims’ relatives will then recite the Kaddish, light four memorial candles and deliver personal eulogies.
Rivlin, Netanyahu and Labor Party leader Yitzhak Herzog will then speak, followed by a eulogy from French Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy Segolene Royal.
Netanyahu returned from Paris on Monday, where he visited the site of Friday’s terror attack at a kosher supermarket and participated in a million person march against terrorism on Sunday.
The supermarket was attacked at the same time that French police had cornered the two terrorists who on Wednesday had killed 12 in an attack on the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.
Two days later, Amedy Coulibaly, who had links to Islamic terrorist groups, killed four men and held another 15 hostage for hours until French police successfully raided the market.
Three of the victims had entered the store to buy last minute items for Shabbat. Two of them, Hattab and Cohen had reportedly attempted to kill the terrorist at separate moments during the attack.
On Monday, police, expecting thousands of mourners to attend the funerals, said security preparations have been completed to oversee the procession and ensure safety.
According to Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, from the morning until mid-day, extra police units will be stationed at the western entrance of the capital and at the nearby Givat Shaul Cemetery for the burials.
“Additional police units will be at the entrance of Jerusalem, the cemetery and in and around nearby neighborhoods from the early hours of the morning, and remain in place throughout the day to make sure the thousands of people expected in the area will arrive safely,” he said.
Rosenfeld said that traffic patrol officers will also be on hand to divert vehicles should roadways become overly congested.
“Police will divert traffic into Jerusalem throughout the day to other entrances if necessary, and will be updating the public of any road changes as the funerals are underway,” he said.
Noting that mourners are expected from throughout the country, Rosenfeld added that police are leaving “nothing to chance.”