The mother of 32-year-old Major Eliraz Peretz, who was killed in a gunfight with Palestinian terrorists in Gaza Friday, gave an interview Saturday in which she called her son "the salt of the earth". Meanwhile Ynet learned that the state had issued demolition orders on his home, located in the West Bank.
"I know God loves the Peretz family's Golani, loves these warriors, loves Eliraz who I will say simply was a hero," she told her family and guests at the Peretz household.
"My sons are always at the front because officers go in front. He provided a personal example and he was alerted to give aid, so of course he was the first to do so. He didn't go to die, but went so that I and the people of Israel could live well. My sons died for us all, so that we can walk proud."
Miriam Peretz added, "In Morocco I went around with my head bowed and I had no freedom. Here in Israel I see my boys in uniform and I'm proud to be Jewish. Eliraz had a gentle soul and a pure soul. He was righteous and pure and a mother could be proud to have such a son."
The mother read a letter from her son thanking her and his father for signing a form allowing him to serve in combat.
"There are no mothers, on our side or the other side, who want their children dead. I don't want my children to die. I don't imagine scenarios of death but rather of life. I teach my children to live in this country heroically."
Demolition orders issued on Peretz home
Meanwhile Ynet learned Saturday evening that demolition orders have been issued for Peretz's home in the West Bank outpost of Givat Hayovel, near the settlement of Eli, where his wife and four children reside. The home is an illegal structure.
One of Peretz's neighbors was Major Roi Klein, who was killed during the Second Lebanon War by jumping on a hand grenade to save his fellow soldiers.
Some of the residents of Eli and Givat Hayovel told Ynet that Peretz took Klein's family in after his death, inviting them to dinner and teaching the children the Torah.