Esther sits shiva at the site of her husband's murder in Samaria: "There were failures"

Esther Rakow-Malet, whose husband Binyahu (of blessed memory) was murdered on Friday in a shooting attack in Samaria, decided to sit shiva and receive mourners at the very place where her husband fell.

"I knew Binyahu since I was 18," she told Ynet. "He was a man of action who dreamed and fought. A man of the army and security, which were at the forefront of his mind. Alongside this, he was a farmer at heart, coming from a family of farmers. He knew every stone and every hill, all without provocation." Rav-Sarel (res.) Binyahu Malet, a resident of Havat Gilad, a member of the standby squad, and the person in charge of agriculture at the site, was 32 at the time of his death. He left behind a widow and two daughters.

The incident began after a group of Israeli hikers was attacked in the area of the village of Tell. Malet rushed to the scene to provide assistance, where one of the Palestinians present snatched a weapon and shot Malet and Rav-Seren Yuval Ezra to death. The terrorist was eliminated immediately, and the forces recovered the weapon.

Esther, a doctoral student in archaeology, said: "Binyahu was 200% committed to his missions. At home, he was an amazing father, working with the youth in Havat Gilad by setting an exceptional personal example. He connected them to the land through both explanations and deep-rooted action." Binyahu served in the reserves in the 16th Brigade, consisting of veterans of the 50th Battalion of the Nahal Brigade. Since the beginning of the war, he had effectively served as an officer. Despite his contribution, he was dismissed from the officers' course for reservists two days before completion, under the pretext of failing the "Loren test" for physical fitness. Esther refuses to accept this, claiming that 10 other cadets finished the course despite failing the same test. "What happened is an injustice, and I am going to fix it," she stated. She noted that the battalion commanders and Brigadier General Kobi Heller, commander of the Judea and Samaria Division, have promised to address the matter.

Esther noted that while she has no criticism of the army's general functioning, there were failures on the ground: "Binyahu managed to return fire, but he lost a lot of blood. The force did not know the terrain, it took them time to reach the scene, civilians lacked medical training, and the evacuation was delayed."

The widow and settler leadership believe the attack could have been prevented. "The standby squad commander and Binyahu tried to repel the terrorists, fearing to open fire — the rules of engagement must be changed. People are afraid to shoot at terrorists due to a lack of backing from commanders. This affects the mindset of forces on the ground," she emphasized.

Despite the tragedy, Esther shared a message: "Binyahu never stood still. Even after the officers' course he did not finish, he continued to function as an officer. He always moved forward, thinking about where to plant another tree and how to develop the settlement."